ΕΥΡΩΠΑΪΚΗ ΈΝΩΣΗ
- 30 Apr 2023
- economy
The European Commission has announced that the process that will allow European Union companies to register their needs for purchasing natural gas through the "AggregateEU" mechanism has started yesterday, which will prepare for the joint purchase of gas at EU level.
The European Commission emphasizes that this process is a milestone for the European Union to prepare for the coming winter through the coordinated and timely refilling of natural gas storage facilities, leveraging its collective market power to negotiate better prices with international suppliers.
As highlighted by the European Union, the registered companies have a deadline of one week, until May 2, to respond to this first invitation to aggregate gas demand.
After the submission of the requests by the individual companies, the requested quantities will be collected and a bidding process will be carried out in the global natural gas market.
Once the AggregateEU mechanism matches the collective demand in the European Union with the offers from international natural gas suppliers, the participating companies will start negotiations with the suppliers on the contractual terms for the purchase and delivery of the gas. The first purchase agreements are expected before the summer.
The Commission points out that it will have no role in the negotiations.
The registration process remains open
Further bidding processes will be conducted on a regular basis, every two months for the next twelve months. The possibility for companies to register in the AggregateEU mechanism remains open. So far 76 companies have registered, while others are in the process of registration. A further 11 companies are ready to provide central buyer or agent services.
At least 15% of national targets
Member States have committed to participate in demand aggregation for at least 15% of their national gas storage targets, which corresponds to around 13.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
It is recalled that the gas storage and joint purchase targets were agreed in 2022 as emergency measures in response to the instrumentalization and weaponization of Russia's energy supplies, as well as unprecedented energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The platform for common natural gas supplies aims to reduce price volatility, ensure secure and predictable energy supplies and leverage Europe's collective displacement in the market.
To implement the RepowerEu project (the mechanism that helps countries to deal with the energy crisis) and to diversify the EU's energy supply, Russian gas is excluded from joint markets.
