An integrated gas market is the cornerstone of the EU's Energy
Union and a key priority of the European Commission. In the
context of his State of the European Union Speech on 13
September,
President Juncker announced that,
building upon the solidarity aspect of the Energy Union, the
Commission will propose common rules for gas pipelines entering
the European internal gas market.
The aim of the amendment is to complete the existing Gas
Directive (2009/73/EC) and clarify that the core principles of
EU energy legislation (third-party access, tariff regulation,
ownership unbundling and transparency) will apply to all gas
pipelines to and from third countries up to the border of the
EU's jurisdiction. This will ensure that all major pipelines
entering the EU territory comply with EU rules, are operated
under the same degree of transparency, are accessible to other
operators and are operated efficiently. Once the amendment is
adopted by the European Parliament and Council these changes
will constitute a significant step towards the completion of
the Energy Union.
This clarification will also contribute to meeting the goals of
the EU gas market, which include increasing competition between
gas suppliers and providing a boost to energy
security in the EU. Ensuring that all major pipelines
wholly or partly located in EU territory are operated
efficiently under a regime of transparent regulatory oversight
will diminish conflicts of interests between infrastructure
operators and gas suppliers, and guarantee non-discriminatory
tariff setting.
In addition the Commission proposes to allow Member States to
be able to grant existing cross-border pipelines certain
derogations from the application of the Directive on a
case-by-case basis, as long as such derogations are not
detrimental for competition or security of supply.
Next steps
The proposed changes need to be agreed by the European
Parliament and Council before they become law. The Commission
calls on the co-legislators to work closely together to ensure
the swift adoption and implementation of these proposals.
Background
The European Union's dependency on imported natural gas is
growing. This trend is likely to continue due to falling
domestic gas production while being only partly offset by
falling gas demand due to energy efficiency and decarbonisation
policies. The share of net gas imports as compared with the
EU's total gas consumption was 69.3% in 2015. The biggest gas
importer to the EU is Russia (42% of overall imports in 2016),
followed by Norway (34%), Algeria (10%) and imported LNG (14%).
In 2016 gas imports were 12% higher than in 2015, driven by
higher consumption, lower prices and falling domestic
production.
For More Information
Questions and
Answers on the Commission proposal to amend the Gas
Directive (2009/73/EC)
DG ENER website: Commission proposes
update do Gas Directive including links to the
documents
Energy Union priority
website
