BRUSSELS: European Union countries will this week debate a possible deal to share out the costs of buying gas to fill storage and build a supply buffer ahead of next winter, according to a draft document seen by Reuters.
EU countries are negotiating proposed rules that would require them to fill their gas storage to at least 90% of capacity by Nov. 1 each year from 2023 and 80% this year - an attempt to reduce the leverage of Russia, which supplies around 40% of EU gas.
The proposal had worried some states with gas storage, including Hungary, Austria and the Netherlands, which feared their companies would be forced to buy large volumes of gas at near-record prices, while those in countries with little or no storage would not.
Diplomats from EU countries will this week discuss a compromise deal, which if approved could lead to negotiations with European Parliament on the final rules.
The draft proposal would keep the 90% target, but only apply it to storage sites that serve the host country’s domestic consumers - meaning a state would not be obliged to fill gas storage on its territory that is mainly used by another country.
A country’s contribution to filling storage would also be capped at 35% of its average annual gas consumption over the last five years, under the proposal by France, which currently chairs meetings of EU countries.
Stored liquefied natural gas could count towards the targets.
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