Brussels, 01/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - The Spanish EU Presidency briefed the Energy Council, which met in Brussels on Monday 31 May, on the progress made in work on the draft regulation tabled in July 2009 by the Commission to reinforce the current Directive 2004/67/EC on gas supply security. Discussions with the European Parliament are underway. The Parliament adopted the Vidal Quadras report in March (EUROPE 10104) and the Presidency expects an agreement will be reached at first reading this term. The new text aims to set in place measures to strengthen gas supply security by guaranteeing effective and continued operation of the internal gas supply and by providing a precise definition and attribution of responsibilities, as well as effective coordination of responses by member states and the EU, not only as far as preventive action is concerned but also regarding the way they react to supply interruptions.
Generally speaking, the energy ministers agreed on Monday that priority must be given to market-based measures (flexibility of production and importation, change of fuel, greater use of renewable energy sources) for as long as possible when natural gas companies have to face a break in supply. They also agreed that investment in infrastructure - especially interconnections, installations allowing bi-directional flows in gas pipelines, and storage capacities - is an essential condition for completing the internal gas market and complying with the N-1 rule which stipulates that, in the event of failure in the main infrastructure, remaining infrastructure must be able to meet the equivalent of one day's exceptionally high consumption. Concerning supply standards, some member states are calling for a stricter definition of “protected customers” while others consider this standard should be understood as a minimum standard, allowing member states to go beyond minimum conditions presented in the regulation under certain specific circumstances. Ministers also underlined the importance of regional cooperation as an element of solidarity between member states, an element recognised and encouraged in the regulation, although these arrangements remain voluntary and must be applied in a flexible manner. Several countries also called for a more precise definition of the roles of member states, mainly through their relevant authorities, and of the Commission on the subject of action to be taken in the event of a regional emergency situation. Finally, most member states agreed that the EU's dependency on imported energy is a significant and additional risk for its security of supply and that relations with third countries are particularly relevant given the necessity to diversify supply sources and supply routes. (E.H./transl.jl)