European Energy Security and Diversification Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1453 To prioritize the efforts of and enhance coordination among United States agencies to encourage European countries to diversify their energy sources and supply routes, increase European countries’ energy security, and help the United States reach its global energy security goals, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 28, 2019 Mr. KINZINGER (for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To prioritize the efforts of and enhance coordination among United States agencies to encourage European countries to diversify their energy sources and supply routes, in- crease European countries’ energy security, and help the United States reach its global energy security goals, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘European Energy Se- 4 curity and Diversification Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:09 Mar 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1453.IH H1453 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 1453 IH SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 1 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 2 gress that the United States has economic and national 3 security interests in assisting European countries achieve 4 energy security through diversification of their energy 5 sources and supply routes. 6 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 7 United States— 8 (1) to advance United States foreign policy and 9 development goals by assisting European countries 10 to reduce their dependence on energy resources from 11 countries that use energy dependence for undue po- 12 litical influence, such as the Russian Federation, 13 which has used natural gas to coerce, intimidate, 14 and influence other countries; 15 (2) to promote the energy security of European 16 countries by encouraging the development of acces- 17 sible, transparent, and competitive energy markets 18 that provide diversified sources, types, and routes of 19 energy; 20 (3) to encourage United States public and pri- 21 vate sector investment in energy infrastructure 22 projects in European countries to bridge the gap be- 23 tween energy security requirements and commercial 24 demand in a way that is consistent with the region’s 25 absorptive capacity; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:09 Mar 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1453.IH H1453 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 1453 IH (4) to help facilitate the export of United States 1 energy resources, technology, and expertise to global 2 markets in a way that benefits the energy security 3 of European countries. 4 SEC. 3. PRIORITIZATION OF EFFORTS AND ASSISTANCE 5 FOR ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS 6 IN EUROPE. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—In pursuing the policy described 8 in section 2(b), the Secretary of State, in coordination 9 with the heads of United States agencies that operate 10 under the foreign policy guidance of the Secretary, shall, 11 as appropriate, prioritize and expedite the efforts of the 12 Department of State or of such agencies to support the 13 efforts of European countries to increase their energy se- 14 curity, including through— 15 (1) providing diplomatic, political, and technical 16 support to European countries— 17 (A) to facilitate international negotiations 18 with respect to cross-border infrastructure; 19 (B) to enhance European countries’ regu- 20 latory environment with respect to energy; or 21 (C) to develop accessible, transparent, and 22 competitive energy markets supplied by diverse 23 sources, types, and routes of energy; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:09 Mar 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1453.IH H1453 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 1453 IH (2) providing support to improve European en- 1 ergy markets, including early-stage project support 2 and late-stage project support, for the construction 3 or improvement of energy infrastructure— 4 (A) to diversify the energy sources and 5 supply routes of European countries; 6 (B) to enhance energy market integration 7 across the region; or 8 (C) to increase competition within energy 9 markets. 10 (b) PROJECT SELECTION.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta- 12 tion with the agencies described in subsection (a), 13 shall identify energy infrastructure projects that 14 would be appropriate for United States assistance 15 under this section. 16 (2) PROJECT ELIGIBILITY.—A project is eligible 17 for United States assistance under this section if the 18 project is— 19 (A) related to— 20 (i) natural gas infrastructure, such as 21 interconnectors, storage facilities, liquefied 22 natural gas import facilities, or reverse 23 flow capacity; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:09 Mar 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1453.IH H1453 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 1453 IH (ii) electricity transmission infrastruc- 1 ture, electricity storage projects, or smart 2 grid projects; 3 (iii) renewable energy projects in 4 wind, solar, tidal, or other forms; or 5 (iv) the improvement, rehabilitation, 6 or construction of natural gas, coal, nu- 7 clear, or other electricity generation facili- 8 ties to increase the efficiency and reliability 9 of electricity production; and 10 (B) located in a European country. 11 (3) PREFERENCE.—In selecting among projects 12 that are eligible under paragraph (2), the agencies 13 described in subsection (a) shall give preference to 14 projects that— 15 (A) improve the capacity of energy systems 16 to efficiently transfer gas and electricity within 17 and between European countries; 18 (B) have already been identified by the 19 European Commission as being integral for the 20 energy security of European countries; 21 (C) are expected to enhance energy market 22 integration and transparency; 23 (D) can attract funding from the private 24 sector, an international financial institution, the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:09 Mar 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1453.IH H1453 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 1453 IH government of the country in which the project 1 will be carried out, or the European Commis- 2 sion; or 3 (E) have the potential to use United States 4 goods and services. 5 (c) COUNTERING RUSSIAN INFLUENCE FUND.—Sec- 6 tion 254 of the Countering Russian Influence in Europe 7 and Eurasia Act of 2017 (22 U.S.C. 9543) is amended— 8 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘fiscal years 9 2018 and 2019’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2018 10 through 2021’’; and 11 (2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 12 following: 13 ‘‘(7) To assist United States agencies in pro- 14 viding assistance under section 3 of the European 15 Energy Security and Diversification Act of 2019.’’. 16 SEC. 4. PROGRESS REPORTS. 17 Not later than one year after the date of the enact- 18 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter for seven years, 19 the President shall submit to the Committee on Foreign 20 Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign 21 Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on 22 progress made in providing assistance for projects under 23 section 3 that includes— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:09 Mar 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1453.IH H1453 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 1453 IH (1) a description of the energy infrastructure 1 projects for which the United States has provided 2 assistance; and 3 (2) for each such project— 4 (A) a description of the role of the United 5 States in the project, including the amount and 6 form of any early-stage project support or late- 7 stage project support; and 8 (B) an update on the progress made on the 9 project as of the date of the report. 10 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 11 In this Act: 12 (1) EUROPEAN COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘Euro- 13 pean country’’ means the following: 14 (A) Albania. 15 (B) Andorra. 16 (C) Austria. 17 (D) Belgium. 18 (E) Bosnia and Herzegovina. 19 (F) Bulgaria. 20 (G) Croatia. 21 (H) Cyprus. 22 (I) The Czech Republic. 23 (J) Denmark. 24 (K) Estonia. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:09 Mar 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1453.IH H1453 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 1453 IH (L) Finland. 1 (M) France. 2 (N) Germany. 3 (O) Greece. 4 (P) Hungary. 5 (Q) Ireland. 6 (R) Italy. 7 (S) Kosovo. 8 (T) Latvia. 9 (U) Liechtenstein. 10 (V) Lithuania. 11 (W) Luxembourg. 12 (X) Moldova. 13 (Y) Monaco. 14 (Z) Montenegro. 15 (AA) The Netherlands. 16 (BB) North Macedonia. 17 (CC) Norway. 18 (DD) Poland. 19 (EE) Portugal. 20 (FF) Romania. 21 (GG) San Marino. 22 (HH) Serbia. 23 (II) Slovakia. 24 (JJ) Slovenia. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:09 Mar 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1453.IH H1453 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 1453 IH (KK) Spain. 1 (LL) Sweden. 2 (MM) Switzerland. 3 (NN) Ukraine. 4 (OO) United Kingdom. 5 (PP) Vatican City. 6 (2) EARLY-STAGE PROJECT SUPPORT.—The 7 term ‘‘early-stage project support’’ includes— 8 (A) feasibility studies; 9 (B) resource evaluations; 10 (C) project appraisal and costing; 11 (D) pilot projects; 12 (E) commercial support, such as trade 13 missions, reverse trade missions, technical 14 workshops, international buyer programs, and 15 international partner searchers to link suppliers 16 to projects; 17 (F) technical assistance and other guid- 18 ance to improve the local regulatory environ- 19 ment and market frameworks to encourage 20 transparent competition and enhance energy se- 21 curity; and 22 (G) long-term energy sector planning. 23 (3) LATE-STAGE PROJECT SUPPORT.—The term 24 ‘‘late-stage project support’’ includes loans, guaran- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:09 Mar 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1453.IH H1453 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 1453 IH tees, insurance, reinsurance, equity investments, and 1 transaction advisory services. 2 (4) INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITU- 3 TION.—The term ‘‘international financial institu- 4 tion’’ has the meaning given the term in section 5 1701(c) of the International Financial Institutions 6 Act (22 U.S.C. 262r(c)). 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:09 Mar 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1453.IH H1453 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS