BusinessEurope position on security of gas supply

Key messages

The European Union (EU) is the world’s most energy efficient economy. The energy produced and imported by the EU creates jobs and growth in Europe. Security of supply is a vital dimension of the EU energy system and therefore must be addressed adequately.

Gas plays a key role for Europe, including the complementary role between gas and renewables in a balanced energy mix, which helps the EU to meet its climate targets. A lot of progress has been made in terms of security of supply over the last ten years[1]. Yet, there is still room for improvement.

The revision of EU Regulation 994/2010 on security of gas supply, together with the development of an EU strategy for liquid natural gas (LNG) and storage, are both essential elements to guarantee secure gas supplies to the EU market. Concrete measures should be adopted to improve the overall EU’s security of gas supply, in particular:

• Improve the existing regional approach in the security of supply regulation while aiming at a long-term common European approach;
• Create a level playing field by encouraging all member states to implement the provisions of the third energy package fully;
• Aim to increase supply diversification and supply competition by allowing a free flow of gas across the EU;
• Consider the capability to trade higher volumes of gas through already existing infrastructures of LNG reception and storage;
• Support market-oriented mechanisms that could be implemented to cope with supply failures due to specific conditions;
• Ensure that member states engage in agreeing on bilateral or multilateral crisis measures, through mutual commitments which are monitored by the EU authorities;
• Maintain and improve attractiveness of the European gas market for external suppliers.