Belgium assumes European Union Council presidency and puts hydrogen high on agenda

Since 1 January 2024, Belgium has been President of the Council of the European Union and will set the European agenda and lead the various meetings for the next six months. In its work programme, Belgium has reserved an important place for hydrogen, as it appears a number of times in the work programme:

• In terms of “ADVANCING OPEN STRATEGIC AUTONOMY AND THE TWIN TRANSITION”, it sees an important role for hydrogen (p. 30)
• When it comes to “ADVANCING SUSTAINABLE ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE”, the Belgian presidency will assess the current European framework’s effectiveness in planning, building, and financing infrastructure, including on hydrogen (p. 39)
• Lastly, the Presidency aims to FACILITATE INTERNATIONAL HYDROGEN TRADE. To achieve this goal, the Presidency will focus on promoting a credible certification system and market platforms, ensuring transparency to trigger the needed investments and make sure the financing tools are fit for purpose. Collaboration with the European Commission on the hydrogen bank and other EU initiatives, including a potential EU hydrogen import strategy, will be an integral part of these efforts (p. 39)

You can find the full work programme here.