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Security of gas supply improves further in the CEE region

2017. 09. 14.

The agreement reached at first-reading of the regulation of the security of gas supply was discussed and adopted at the plenary session of the European Parliament on Tuesday. “The recently adopted regulation further strengthens regional cooperation and solidarity in Central Eastern Europe,” said Fidesz MEP András Gyürk in his comment on the vote.

Revision of the regulation issued in 2010 has become necessary after the experiences of the last couple of years. Constant improvement of the guidelines is needed to eliminate the danger of disruptions in gas supply. We must ensure that after the experiences of the winters of 2006 and 2009, we will never again have a situation where European citizens are unable to heat their homes.

EPP MEP András Gyürk thanked rapporteur Jerzy Buzek for his work as the person responsible for the dossier on behalf of the European People’s Party and the representative of the Parliament in negotiations with the Commission and the Council. András Gyürk pointed out numerous weaknesses in the original Commission proposal. For instance, the obligatory regional list, double standards in reporting obligations or the inaccurately defined solidarity actions. In all of these points, the first reading agreement shows significant improvements. Instead of fixed regional groups, regions are now created based on risks. Also, thanks to the compromise on the limit to the reporting requirement (now at 28 percent), a difference is no longer apparent between the old and new member states. Regarding solidarity actions, a much more detailed description is now available that describes how and on what conditions Member States should help each other.

“Guaranteeing the security of European gas supply is a topic we need to deal with continuously,” Gyürk, the head of the Hungarian EPP delegation, said. As our body of experience grows, it’s clear that the review of regulations on the security of supply is an ongoing task.