Brussels.02/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - The security of gas supply package presented by the Commission in February in the second raft of measures for energy union (see EUROPE 11491) will be at the heart of discussions at the meeting of EU energy ministers in Luxembourg on Monday 6 June. The Council is expected to agree a general approach on the information exchange mechanism with regard to inter-governmental agreements (IGAs) between member states and third countries within the field of energy.
Transparency of IGAs. Under the chairmanship of Dutch Economic Affairs Minister and with Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete attending the meeting, ministers are expected to reach a general agreement on the proposal for a decision on establishing an information exchange mechanism with regard to IGAs and non-binding instruments (such as memoranda of understanding) between member states and third countries in the field of energy.
This revised text seeks to correct shortcomings of the current information exchange mechanism identified by the Commission, thus enhancing the transparency and consistency of EU's external energy relations and strengthening EU's negotiation stance vis-à-vis third countries. It takes account of the requests of the European Council of March 2015, which called for full compliance with EU law of all agreements related to the buying of gas from external suppliers.
The Commission proposes to examine the international agreements in the field of energy before they were signed by member states, arguing that, if certain provisions of an IGA are found to be incompatible with Union law (such as the third energy package, competition law, public procurement rules), it is very difficult or even impossible for a member state to renegotiate the agreement with a third country.
During preparatory work, a number of member states declared that they could not follow this approach but a compromise put by the Dutch Presidency was accepted by member states' ambassadors to the EU in mid-May (see EUROPE 11555) on the following basis: - member states will keep the Commission informed before the start of negotiations of all IGAs, and regularly during the negotiations; - the ex ante assessment of the IGA text by the Commission will apply only for gas-related IGAs and will last a maximum of between six and twelve weeks; - member states may request the ex ante assessment for other non-gas related IGAs; - all non-gas related IGAs are to be notified to the Commission ex post (upon ratification) and the Commission will assess these within nine months; - non-binding instruments will not have to be notified.
The agreement on the general approach will allow the Council to start negotiations with the European Parliament with a view to the final adoption of the proposal.
Security of gas supply. The Council will hold a policy debate on the proposal for a revised regulation on measures to safeguard the security of gas supply. The main purpose of the proposal is to minimise the impact of a potential gas disruption by improving the cooperation between member states and by building on the achievements of the internal energy market. It aims to build greater trust and solidarity at regional and EU levels.
The main elements of the revised regulation are: - enhanced regional cooperation and coordination; - compulsory regional preventive action plans and emergency plans, as well as regional risk assessments, to be prepared jointly; - a new compulsory solidarity principle which will have a apply in extreme crisis scenarios; - stricter obligations to ensure that the necessary infrastructure is available.
On the basis of three questions prepared by the Presidency, ministers will discuss the arrangements that would be best suited to organising and strengthening the regional cooperation, the conditions that would need to be fulfilled in order to implement solidarity and the extent to which information on commercial gas supply contracts be provided to national competent authorities and to the Commission.
Electricity market design. The Presidency will inform ministers on electricity market design and regional cooperation, while recalling the exchange of views on these issues at the informal meeting of Energy ministers in Amsterdam on 10-11 April (see EUROPE 11529) where ministers provided the Commission with guidance ahead of its legislative proposal promised for the second half of this year to re-design the electricity market.
This work is being carried out against the background of the Commission initiative in its first raft of measures for energy union, in summer 2015, re-organising the internal electricity market to enable it to face challenges, such as integration of renewable energy, de-centralised renewable energy production and increased participation of energy consumers in then energy market (see EUROPE 11356).
North Sea cooperation. On the sidelines of the Council, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Norway and the Commission on behalf of the European Union will sign a political declaration on energy cooperation between the North Seas countries. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)