EU agrees measures for energy crises

Deal requires states to keep 30 days of gas in reserve and to make pipeline system more flexible.

Spain, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of Ministers, and MEPs have agreed new rules designed to ensure continuity of gas supplies in the case of disruptions.

The Spanish presidency reached a deal with MEPs last night on a directive that would oblige the EU’s member states to be able, in case of disruption, to supply households and major public facilities, such as hospitals, for at least 30 days. These supplies would have priority over supplies for industrial users. 

The deal is expected to be approved formally by EU ambassadors at a meeting on Friday (25 June) and will then be voted on at the European Parliament’s plenary session in September.

Under the agreement, EU member states would have to draw up national plans to be activated during supply interruptions. These plans would have to be submitted to the European Commission for assessment. In the case of a disruption affecting more than one country, the Commission would be able to co-ordinate the various national plans to maintain supplies.

Gas companies would also have to ensure that the flow of gas could be reversed, enabling gas to be sent, for example, from western Europe to the east.

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Herbert Reul, a German centre-right MEP who chairs the Parliament’s industry committee, said that the measures would help the EU deal with situations such as the current dispute between Russia and Belarus.

“The EU will be better armed in future. That will make us less vulnerable to political blackmail,” he said.

If approved, the new measures will come into force in 2014, although there is provision for some exemptions.