Following the breakdown of the third round of trialogue talks between the Council of the EU, the European Parliament and the Commission on the proposal for a revised security of gas supply regulation on 27 March, negotiators from the Maltese Presidency of the Council and those of the Parliament, led by rapporteur and chair of the Parliament’s energy committee, Jerzy Buzek (EPP, Poland), will try to reach agreement at a meeting which they hope will be the last “at the end of April”, a source told EUROPE on Thursday 6 April.
The talks still have to overcome major problems: the share of the national market relevant for member states’ security of supply above which states must submit their gas contracts to the Commission: the Council is arguing for a 40% threshold, whereas Parliament wants 20%.
In addition, Parliament is calling for this provision to apply not only to future gas contracts that will be signed after the revised regulation comes into force but also to existing contracts.
Lastly, Parliament wants the Commission to have the power to veto contracts when it believes they pose a threat to a member state’s energy security. The Council rejects this idea.
Negotiators are planning to meet “around 26-27 April”, the latest date possible under Maltese Presidency for the text – should an inter-institutional agreement be reached – to be approved by Parliament and then the Council, our source explained.
Since the start of their trialogue negotiations in early February, the Council and the Parliament have already agreed a compromise on the other key points, which include regional cooperation and the organisation of regional groups, information exchange and the issue of solidarity and compensation mechanisms.
Regional cooperation. Parliament accepted the Council position that the composition of regional groups would vary according to the risk and that these groups should be identified on the basis of transnational risk assessments.
The two parties also agreed on the role of the Commission, which will be to act as a facilitator helping the regional groups prepare their emergency plans.
Sharing of information on gas contracts. Parliament wanted member states to inform the Commission of all the details in gas contract but Council successfully argued that the details should remain confidential.
The revised text on the security of gas supply, which will contain new rules authorising member states to turn to other member states for the supply of gas in emergencies, is, along with the revised mechanism on the transparency of inter-governmental agreements (IGAs), one of the two flagship proposals of the gas security package tabled by the Commission in February 2016 (see EUROPE 11491). (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)