Flawed by design: How the Connecting Europe Facility still backs the fossil-fuel industry
Briefing | 8 July 2025
EU governments and the European Commission are looking to dramatically expand hydrogen infrastructure under the guise of Europe’s energy transition. Experts, however, warn this much-hyped fuel is little more than a distraction. An earlier Bankwatch report revealed how the hydrogen strategies of EU Member States simply don’t add up.
In this briefing, we expose the role of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), a little-known EU infrastructure fund, in feeding the hydrogen hoopla. In 2024, the CEF handed out hundreds of millions in public EU money to studies designed to help realise dubious projects such as fossil gas-sourced hydrogen with carbon capture and storage. Among the beneficiaries are gas transmission system operators and the oil and gas giants Shell, Equinor, Eni, and Snam.
Never miss an update
We expose the risks of international public finance and bring critical updates from the ground. We believe that the billions of public money should work for people and the environment.
STAY INFORMED
