The EU has decided to buy gas jointly. The platform for collective choice is also open to the Republic of Moldova
European UnionA will buythe collective gasand natural. EU countries decided on Friday to give the European Commission the mandate to make joint purchases of gas, modeled on COVID-19 vaccine orders, in the context of the war in Ukraine leading to rising energy prices, and some countries are dependent on Russian gas. The EU’s procurement platform will also be open to the Western Balkan countries, as well as to the three EU-linked countries through association agreements (Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia), according to the conclusions of the Brussels summit. Agerpres.
The decision was made by the leaders of the 27 states, after hours of difficult negotiations.
Eager to isolate Moscow and deprive Russia of significant sources of revenue, after the invasion of Ukraine, Brussels wants to reduce European purchases of Russian gas by two-thirds this year.
By merging demand, the Commission intends to facilitate contacts with international suppliers in order to diversify Europeans’ sources of supply. The European Commission has already begun negotiations with the main producing countries (Norway, Qatar, Algeria) and announced an agreement with the United States on Friday to increase liquefied natural gas supplies to the EU.
“The United States will not provide at least 15 billion cubic meters of LPG this year, in other words, we will supply Russian hydrocarbons this year. In the coming years, our target is at least 50 billion cubic meters per year, which will replace one third of all shipments of gas to Europe. It is significant and in addition, our investments will facilitate the path to the transition to green energy, because the infrastructure we now use for transportation. gasof natural resources – and in which we have invested – can also be used for hydrogen in the future. If we look at the market gasnatural market, the market based on gasdelivered by gasoduce, 75 percent of this market is the European market. So we have a huge purchasing power. That is why I am glad that from now on we will use our ability to bargain collectively, instead of competing with each other and raising the price, we will make a unique offer, “said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
Participation in the joint purchasing mechanism is “voluntary”
“Joint procurement, the ability to jointly define a long-term contract, is the best tool for reducing prices,” French President Emmanuel Macron told a news conference. “The Commission can make up to 75% of its gas purchases”, either by renegotiating existing contracts or by concluding new ones, by Emmanuel Macron, who holds the six-month EU presidency.
For his part, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized that participation in this joint ownership mechanism would be voluntary, as opposed to the joint procurement mechanism for vaccines, which excludes orders from outside the Commission. “We have agreed that this is an opportunity that allows for voluntary cooperation in gas procurement,” the chancellor said.
“Since, when you look at specific cases, it can be complicated, very complicated, because there are private companies all over Europe that are contracted, that buy gas on their behalf and intend to continue in the future,” said German Chancellor Olaf. Scholz.
Germany is skeptical about another thorny issue: capping energy prices. Berlin wants Brussels to quickly consider the impact of this cap. Italy, on the other hand, believes that the EU’s common offer will play exactly this role of capping energy prices along the way.
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Editor: Luana Pavaluca