Proposal for a regulation
Article 15
Eligibility of projects for Union financial assistance 1. Projects of common interest falling under the categories set out in points 1, 2 and 4 of Annex II are eligible for Union financial support in the form of grants for studies and financial instruments in accordance with the provisions of [Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council establishing the Connecting Europe Facility]. 2. Projects of common interest falling under the categories set out in points 1(a) to (d) and 2 of Annex II, except for hydro- pumped electricity storage projects, shall be also eligible for Union financial support in the form of grants for works in accordance with the provisions of [Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council establishing the Connecting Europe Facility], if they are carried out according to the procedure referred to in paragraph 6(b) of Article 5 or if they fulfil the following criteria: (a) the project specific cost-benefit analysis pursuant to paragraph 4(a) of Article 13 provides evidence concerning the existence of significant positive externalities, such as security of supply, solidarity or innovation; and (b) the project is commercially not viable according to the business plan and other assessments carried out, notably by possible investors or creditors. The decision on incentives and its justification referred to in paragraph 3 of Article 14 shall be taken into account when assessing the project's commercial viability; and (c) the project has received a cross-border cost allocation decision pursuant to Article 36 or, for projects having received an exemption pursuant to Article 36 of Directive 2009/73/EC or Article 17 of Regulation (EC) No 714/2009, an opinion from the competent national regulatory authorities and the Agency on the commercial viability of the project. 3. Projects of common interest falling under the categories set out in points 1(e) and 4 of Annex II shall be also eligible for Union financial support in the form of grants for works in accordance with the provisions of [Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council establishing the Connecting Europe Facility], if the concerned project promoters can clearly demonstrate the significant positive externalities generated by the projects and their lack of commercial viability.deleted