Media: EU plans to centrally purchase at least 15 percent of gas

MADRID, 17 Oct – PRIME. Brussels is set to fill at least 15% of EU member states’ gas storage capacities through the European hub, El Pais reported on Monday.

Such a proposal, which will be voluntary, is part of the European Commission’s package of measures to restart the joint gas purchase initiative, the newspaper said. At a summit later this week, the leaders of 27 countries are expected to give the green light to this new set of tools to combat rising gas prices.

The idea of ​​such a procurement platform was approved in the spring after pressure and claims from a number of countries, in particular, Spain. Throughout this time, the initiative was in limbo, largely due to German resistance. However, as the newspaper clarifies, it seems that Brussels managed to get Berlin to join the proposal.

According to the EC, gas reserves in the EU (19 out of 27 Member States have storage capacities) exceed 91%. However, gas and electricity prices are extremely high and volatile, the newspaper writes.

According to El Pais, the EC believes that the member states themselves, competing with each other for suppliers, also provoked a rise in gas prices, as happened at the beginning of the health crisis caused by covid.

The newspaper also writes that the EU has managed to significantly reduce the consumption of Russian gas since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine. The share of the use of fuel coming from the Russian Federation through the pipeline decreased from 41% in 2021 to 9% this year, and Russian liquefied natural gas – from 45% in 2021 to 14%.