Around a year after the launch of the AggregateEU platform (see EUROPE 13309/32) as part of the REPowerEU plan, the European Commission explained the new concept of “mid-term tenders” to transform the joint gas purchasing mechanism into a permanent instrument during a seminar recorded on 30 January.
European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič hailed the platform’s success: “The market showed great interest (...) in the four tenders last year, and AggregateEU succeeded in bringing buyers and sellers together in agreements involving more than 42 billion cubic metres”.
He therefore concluded that the Commission will continue “to organise joint gas purchasing on a voluntary basis, while seeking to make it more attractive”.
Mr Šefčovič also reiterated his intention to promote hydrogen and “other strategic commodities” in the future.
AggregateEU is introducing a new concept of “mid-term tenders”, allowing buyers to submit their applications for seasonal periods of 6 months (for a minimum of 1,800,000 MWh for LNG and 30,000 for NBP per period), running from April 2024 to October 2029.
“The aim is to help sellers identify buyers who might be interested in a longer-term commercial partnership, i.e. up to five years”, says a Commission press release.
The first mid-term call for tenders will take place on 15 February for buyers and sellers registered with PRISMA (the service provider) and signed up to the AggregateEU platform before 12 February. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)