Energy Council Agrees On Common Rules For Internal Gas Market
At the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council (TTE) meeting on 28 March, the ministers agreed on a general guideline on the gas market package.
It includes a proposal for common rules for the internal market for renewable and natural gases and hydrogen to facilitate the transition to renewable gases and lead to decreased use of natural gas.
“I’m glad we’ve found a balanced agreement on the gas package. Europe is on a journey to shift away from natural gas to renewable and low-carbon gases and we have to create the right market conditions for that to happen, in a way that promotes competitiveness, protects consumers and advances climate-neutrality objective for 2050.”
Gas market package
The ministers agreed on a general guideline on the gas market package, which includes two legislative proposals on common rules for the internal market for renewable and natural gases and hydrogen. The aim of the legislation is for the gas sector to transition to renewable and low-carbon gases to achieve the EU goal of climate neutrality by 2050.
Reduction of gas demand
EU energy ministers reached a political agreement on the proposal to extend the Council Regulation on a voluntary reduction of natural gas demand by 15 per cent between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, compared with consumption from 2017 to 2022.
Electricity market design
The ministers held an initial policy debate on a proposal to revise the EU electricity market design. The proposal aims to make the EU energy market more resilient and stable, to shield consumers and companies from short-term electricity price volatility and to drive investments into renewable energy. The debate provides guidance for future work on the proposal within the Council.
Other business
Minister of Energy of Ukraine German Galushchenko was invited to the Council for a conversation with EU ministers on the energy situation in Ukraine.
The European Commission updated the ministers on preparations for next winter, Denmark shared information about the Regulation on nature restoration and Greece presented material on the electricity grid.
The Council also adopted four regulatory frameworks within the EU’s Fit for 55 climate package, which includes measures to reduce emissions in the EU by 55 per cent by 2030. This includes the Regulation on setting CO2 emission performance standards for new passenger cars and for new light commercial vehicles, the Regulation on land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF), and the Regulation on effort sharing, all of which set out Member States’ binding annual greenhouse gas emission reductions through 2030. The Council also decided to change their market stability reserve, which supports the EU Emissions Trading System.