During discussions in the EU Council’s ‘Energy’ working group on Thursday 27 March, the Member States gave their comments on the second version presented by the Polish Presidency of the revision of the European Commission’s proposal concerning the extension of the regulation on gas storage (see EUROPE 13606/9, 13593/11).
According to our information, several Member States believe that the Presidency’s proposal to “deviate by 5 percentage points” from the final target of 90% of EU gas tanks filled by 1 November this year is a step in the right direction, but that more flexibility is possible.
Some countries, including France, Germany and the Netherlands, support the inclusion of a 10 percentage point margin in the regulation, but the Commission is reluctant to go down this route. Several countries would therefore have supported the idea that the Commission should be able to increase the margin by means of a delegated act, as mentioned by two sources.
A handful of Member States are also said to be in favour of flexibility measures coming into force as early as 2025.
In addition, Member States with very large storage capacities would still ask for a reduction in the target for filling reservoirs equivalent to 35% of the country’s annual consumption, which is granted to them, to 25%.
A third revision of the text by the Polish Presidency is expected by 31 March. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)