European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly announced on Thursday she has opened an investigation into the European Commission’s so-called list of Projects of Common Interest (PCIs), as the EC gave last week its formal backing on 32 major gas infrastructure projects.

The inquiry was opened following a complaint by Food & Water Europe, which claimed that gas projects are not sufficiently assessed before being included on the list.

In a letter sent on 10 February to European Commission's chief Urs...