EU Security of gas supply

11May
2022
High-Level Roundtable in Brussels

A discussion with:

MEP Jerzy Buzek, President of the EEF 
 

Moderated by Pascale Verheust, Director General of the EEF

The EEF had the pleasure to welcome its President MEP Jerzy Buzek for a High-Level Roundtable discussion on EU security of gas supply.

President Buzek offered an overview of the work on the urgent EU gas storage regulation carried out by the ITRE negotiating team – which he himself coordinates – and shared some updates on the ongoing work on the hydrogen and decarbonised gas package.

He stressed that mid- and long-term actions are as key as short-term ones to strengthen the EU energy security, especially in light of the war in Ukraine. These measures should keep energy prices affordable for EU citizens – particularly those facing energy poverty – and competitive for the European industries.

Besides commenting on the measures and targets proposed in the new regulation on EU gas storage, our Associate Members had the opportunity to discuss with the President the key actions that EU institutions and governments, together with private stakeholders, should take in order for the EU to diversify its energy supply and become fully independent from Russian gas imports. Long-term contracts, the establishment of a joint procurement mechanism and the suitability of intervening on market dynamics were also touched upon.  

Our participants also shared some remarks on the importance of having an adequately interconnected infrastructure, enhancing domestic production, and creating a burden-sharing mechanisms to be able to face the current energy crisis.

Thanks to our industry members for their participation and a special thank you to our President, who stayed with us much longer than planned to ensure all industries’ suggestions were listened to!