MEPs and the Polish Presidency of the Council have reached an informal agreement to extend the EU’s 2022 gas storage scheme until December 31, 2027. This extension aims to ensure gas supply security ahead of winter by introducing greater flexibility in gas storage refilling rules.
The draft legislation seeks to address market speculation and reduce prices by allowing Member States more leeway in achieving the mandatory 90% storage fill rate. Under the new terms, countries can meet this target at any time between October 1 and December 1, without needing to maintain it until December 1 once achieved.
In challenging market conditions, such as those involving speculation that hinders cost-effective storage filling, Member States may deviate from the target by up to ten percentage points. The European Commission has the authority to increase this deviation for one filling season if necessary.
Additionally, there will be increased transparency regarding the share of gas originating from Russia stored within each Member State. This aligns with proposals from June 17 by the European Commission aimed at monitoring Russian gas presence in EU storage facilities.
“The 2022 legislation showed that Europe was able to protect its citizens in a situation where Russia was using gas as a weapon of blackmail,” said rapporteur Borys Budka (EPP, Poland). “This revision will provide for more flexibility and less bureaucracy but above all to bring Europe’s gas prices down, while we continue towards energy independence from unreliable suppliers,” he added.
The Industry, Research and Energy committee is set to vote on this informal agreement on June 26.
Gas-storage facilities are crucial for providing about 30% of the Union’s consumption during winter months. The EU’s reliance on non-EU countries for primary energy supplies has been a significant concern, especially following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent use of gas supplies as leverage. Despite new rules introduced in response to these challenges, global competition for liquefied natural gas (LNG) remains high, contributing to ongoing price volatility.
