In two separate votes on Thursday 13 October, the European Parliament’s energy committee backed and reinforced two draft legislative projects unveiled by the European Commission in February as part of a gas security package (see EUROPE 11491) – a regional security mechanism for gas supplies, and a compulsory prior European Commission consultation mechanism for the member states before the signing of any intergovernmental agreement (IGA) on energy with a non-EU country.
By 55 to 4 with 2...