EU ministers will hold a policy debate in Brussels on Monday 5 December on the proposal for a revised regulation on the security of gas supply, to consider the key points of the proposal (regional cooperation and solidarity). In addition, the Commission will present its new package of measures for clean energy to the Council.
Security of gas supply. The Council will hold a policy debate on the proposal for revision of the 2010 regulation on the security of gas supply, one of the two flagship proposals of the gas security package (along with revision of the 2012 decision on the transparency of inter-governmental agreements – IGAs – in the area of energy between EU member states and third countries) presented by the Commission in February (see EUROPE 11491).
The proposal seeks to reduce the impact of any possible cuts in gas supply by increasing cooperation among member states. Its key elements are: - strengthening cooperation and regional coordination on the basis of pre-defined regions; - compulsory preventive action plans and regional emergency plans, along with regional risk assessments; - a new principle of solidarity which will necessarily apply in cases of extreme crisis; - closer scrutiny of the provisions contained in gas supply contracts; - aligning obligations in the rules to ensure that the necessary infrastructure is available.
After the work done by the Council working party and by the member states’ ambassadors (Coreper) under the Dutch and Slovak Presidencies, three key issues remain outstanding: - regional cooperation, the exchange of information on commercial gas supply contracts, and solidarity – which ministers will debate on Monday.
Ministers will be asked by the Slovak Presidency to select an option for each of the three issues and to provide the working party with guidance on the regulation as a whole so as to allow the Council to come to a general approach as quickly as possible and to begin negotiations with the European Parliament, the negotiating mandate of which was agreed on 13 October (see EUROPE 11645).
Clean energy package. The Commission will set out for ministers its package of measures for clean energy that was unveiled on Wednesday 30 November (see EUROPE 11679). This major package of proposals, forming part of the implementation of the strategy for Energy Union, seeks to speed up the EU’s transition towards a clean, decentralised energy system, by encouraging increased energy efficiency and deploying renewable energy, and by redesigning the electricity market to ensure active participation by consumers.
External dimension. Ministers will discuss the external dimension of EU energy policy and the progress made by member states since the Council report adopted in December 2013 (see EUROPE 10984) in light of updated information provided by the Commission in seeking to speak as one on the international stage.
IGA transparency. The Council will be briefed by the Presidency on progress on revising the decision establishing a mechanism for exchanging information on IGAs and non-binding instruments concluded between member states and third countries in the area of energy. To address the shortcomings of the present mechanism and strengthen the EU’s position when negotiating with third countries, the proposal on the table provides for the compulsory pre-consultation of the Commission by the member states before any such agreements are signed.
The Council agreed a general approach on 6 June (see EUROPE 11566) and the European Parliament energy committee adopted its negotiating mandate on 13 October (see EUROPE 11645). Since then, two trialogues, on 8 and 24 November, have allowed agreement to be reached on a number of issues. Some important matters, however, remain to be resolved, such as the definition of IGAs, the inclusion of non-binding instruments (which the Council removed from its general approach) and the scope of the ex-ante evaluation of IGAs carried out by the Commission (the Council would prefer to see this restricted to gas-related IGAs, with oil and electricity related IGAs being made subject to ex-post evaluation). A third trialogue meeting is scheduled for 7 December.
Energy labelling. The Council will also be briefed by the Presidency on the state of play in negotiations on the draft regulation establishing a revised framework for energy efficiency labelling. The Council agreed a general approach on 26 November 2015 (see EUROPE 11439) and the European Parliament adopted its amendments on 6 July of this year (see EUROPE 11588). Three informal trialogue meetings have taken place under Slovak Presidency – in July, September and October – resulting in provisional agreement on most of the subsidiary political issues, including the scope, definitions, market surveillance and harmonised standards. The Presidency presented compromise proposals on the central points of the revision and the database at the third trialogue. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)