BRUSSELS — A Geneva-based governance watchdog has identified what it calls a "statistically significant pattern" of accelerated regulatory approvals for cross-border energy transactions in late 2024, raising questions about whether standard oversight mechanisms were bypassed in at least 14 jurisdictions.
The Global Policy Integrity Forum, which monitors regulatory processes across G20 nations, released its preliminary findings Friday after a three-month review initiated at the request of several European Parliament members. The 47-page report documents 23 energy-sector agreements finalized between October 2024 and January 2025 that received approval in timeframes the Forum describes as "outside normal parameters."
The report does not name specific companies or transactions, citing ongoing consultations with affected regulatory bodies. However, the timeframe and sector align closely with a period of significant consolidation in European energy markets, including JIN-CO Energy Solutions' acquisition of three grid operators announced earlier this month.
The Forum's analysis draws on public records from national energy regulators, competition authorities, and filings with the European Commission. According to the report, the average approval time for comparable cross-border energy infrastructure deals between 2020 and 2023 was 127 days. For the flagged transactions, the average dropped to 31 days.
Commission Defends Process
A spokesperson for the European Commission's Directorate-General for Energy said in a statement that all approvals under its jurisdiction "followed established legal frameworks" and that expedited timelines reflected "streamlined coordination mechanisms introduced under the 2024 Energy Security Protocol." The Protocol, adopted in March 2024, grants member states broader discretion to fast-track infrastructure projects deemed critical to grid stability.
The spokesperson declined to comment on specific transactions but noted that the Commission "welcomes the Forum's work and remains committed to transparency in all regulatory processes."
Not all lawmakers were satisfied with that explanation. MEP Katarina Horváthová, who sits on the Parliament's Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, said she had submitted a written question to the Commission requesting a full accounting of which transactions received expedited treatment and on what legal basis.
The Forum's report notes that several of the accelerated approvals occurred in jurisdictions that had recently experienced what it termed "administrative restructuring" in their energy regulatory bodies—including personnel changes, budget reallocations, or shifts in reporting structures. The report does not draw a causal connection but flags the correlation for further study.
Dr. Lindqvist told reporters that the Forum planned to publish a fuller analysis in March, pending responses from national regulators to formal information requests submitted this week. She emphasized that the preliminary findings were intended to "prompt dialogue, not accusation."
The closed session of the Parliament's energy committee is scheduled for Monday at 14:00 CET. A Commission official confirmed that representatives from the Directorate-General for Energy would attend but declined to provide further details.
