By Martha Moss - 21st September 2010
If applied speedily and effectively it will be a powerful message to our gas suppliers that Europe stands all for one and one for all in the crises
EPP deputy Alejo Vidal-Quadras
The European parliament has adopted new legislation aimed at securing Europe's gas supply and improving the management of any future crisis.
The rules were designed to avoid a repeat of the 2009 stand-off between Russia and Ukraine, which crippled gas supplies and left thousands of homes without heat in the winter months.
Under the proposals, approved by MEPs on Tuesday by 601 votes to 27, European gas companies would be required to ensure domestic supplies.
The legislation also gives the European commission an oversight role and obliges EU member states to coordinate their policies in the event of future disruptions.
EPP deputy Alejo Vidal-Quadras, who is parliament's rapporteur on the proposal, said it provided "a real solution to a real problem".
The measures were a "milestone" and a "genuinely powerful instrument" which could improve security of gas supplies in the EU, he said.
He added, "If applied speedily and effectively it will be a powerful message to our gas suppliers that Europe stands all for one and one for all in the crises."
Further comment came from parliament president Jerzy Buzek, who said the rules were "a step in the right direction of more solidarity in the field of energy security and energy supply".
"The EU should be better protected from gas crises thanks to this new law on better EU-wide coordination of supplies and gas interconnection plans," he said.
"Gas supply crises in Europe should be better managed and disruption in household gas supplies avoided."
Buzek added that the commission had a "great responsibility" in "ensuring a smooth exchange of information, the consistency of national actions and coordination with third countries" in any future crisis.
"However, the task is not over yet," he said. "We still have more work to do in order to achieve full energy security in the European Union."
ECR MEP Konrad Szymanski said the regulation "gets the balance right regarding political involvement in gas supply whilst providing adequate infrastructure to ensure that energy is a commodity and not a weapon".
"This regulation is not perfect but it has a lot of potential," he said. "These new rules must signal the end of indifference by national governments and companies to the use of gas a political tool, particularly by Russia.
"In the future, the EU must respond together, in the spirit of solidarity, to gas supply crises.
"We hope that the commission will fight the monopolistic abuse of Gazprom which, for political reasons, wants to retain control of both material and pipelines.
"This is to the detriment of consumers and the common market and it prevents investment in new technology."
ALDE energy spokesman Adina Valean said it was a "positive step towards reducing Europe's vulnerability and reassuring our citizens, keeping prices affordable, and strengthening solidarity between member states".
"But we still need to continue diversifying energy routes and supply sources to facilitate competition, access and choice," she said.
"Security of energy supply has a different meaning when you are Romanian, Dutch, or Finnish. Our various geopolitical situations require a European approach. And a European approach requires a full completion of the energy market."
Valean added, "It is time to ask for more transparency, accountability and democracy in the way our member states deal with energy policy."
Energy commissioner Günther Oettinger said the commission had set €1.4bn aside for infrastructure projects aimed at reducing Europe's vulnerability in future crises.
"This regulation is a major step forward to ensure that every household has gas even in the event of gas supply disruptions," Oettinger said.
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