The International Network
for Sustainable Energy

EU Energy Policy:
- Natural Gas Security - Directive

Updated: 15/7 2004

Content
The Directive establishes a common framework within which the countries must define general security of supply policies. The main points are as follows:
- Countries must ensure that supplies for household customers are protected to an appropriate extent. If an adequate interconnecter is available, countries may achieve the security of supply standards using gas storage facilities located within another country.
- Countries may require the industry to set indicative minimum targets for
a possible future contribution of gas storage to security of supply.
- the Commission must monitor the developments on the gas market on
the basis of reports from the countries;
- A Gas Coordination Group is established for security of supply measures;
- The countries must adopt and publish national emergency provisions;
- Rules are established to be used in the event of a major supply disruption with the foreseeable length of at least eight weeks;
- In the event of a major supply disruption, the Directive provides for a three step approach. The first step involves the reactions of the industry. The next step is that Member States must take measures to solve the supply disruption. Only if the measures taken at stage one and two have failed will appropriate measures be taken at Community level.

Status
The ammended proposal was approved by the council of ministers of the EU countries April 26, 2004. It is now Council Directive 2004/67/EC. It entered into force May 19 and must be implemented by May 19, 2006.

April 20, 2004 the Parliament agreed to ammendments of the directive, including the removal of some provisions of harmonisation of EU gas industry.

The council of minister and the Parliament made several changes to the directive to minimise harmonisation to the necessary for security of supply. They also and moved the legal basis, hus it is no longer under co-decision procedure.

The initial proposal from the Commisison (COM2002/488) came November 11, 2002.

Read the Parliaments Procedure at wwwdb.europarl.eu.int/oeil/oeil_ViewDNL.ProcViewCTX?lang=2&procid=7846

Read the directive text