On 15 January 2015 the European Commission issued a consultation paper (Consultation Paper) on the revision of Regulation (EU) No. 994/2010 concerning measures to safeguard security of gas supply and repealing Council Directive 2004/67/EC (Regulation).
Last year the European Commission carried out stress tests seeking to analyse the effects of a possible partial or complete disruption of gas supplies from Russia. The tests concluded that the Regulation has already enabled Europe to be better prepared to react to a gas supply crisis thanks to the requirements for meeting certain common infrastructure and supply standards, as well as for establishing preventative action plans and emergency plans. However, the stress tests also showed that there are areas requiring further improvement with a view to strengthen Europe’s security of supply and ensure more effective management of supply crises.
Within this context, the Consultation Paper aims to identify those areas where improvements to the Regulation are required, the various options available and their impacts.
The degree of vulnerability to gas supply disruptions varies across Europe, therefore a one-size-fits-all approach in terms of preventive and mitigation measures is not appropriate. The different level of exposure to a supply crisis of Member States and regions has to be taken into account when implementing such measures.
The stress tests have revealed that key to secure gas supply is having functioning gas markets, but well-coordinated actions of Member States can also increase supply security. The consultation seeks to verify to what extent better coordination of national preventative measures, as well as national mitigation actions in case of emergency, is necessary.
The Consultation Paper is structured in two parts. Part I focuses on prevention measures, with questions aiming to gain insight in whether improving existing provisions of the Regulation is necessary, but also testing new ideas. Part II focuses on mitigation actions, the objective being to ensure that Member States are prepared to manage an emergency situation, applying efficient coordinated solutions rather than adopting a purely national approach.
The consultation period ends on 18 March 2015.
The Consultation Paper may be found at the following link:
https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/files/documents/DG%20ENER_Consultation%20Paper%20on%20SoS%20Revision_14.01.2015%20ddl12w.pdf
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