On 31 December 2024, the agreement on the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine expired. At today's extraordinary meeting of the Gas Coordination Group, the Commission and the Central and Eastern European Member States took stock of the situation.
The exchange of views made it possible to confirm that, thanks to effective preparatory work and coordination in the region and beyond, there are no security of supply concerns. Gas supplies were secured through alternative routes (Germany, Italy) and by drawing on storage facilities. The European gas infrastructure is flexible to receive gas of non-Russian origin, which is in line with the objectives of the REPowerEU project.
It has also been boosted by significant new LNG import capacity from 2022. The storage level of 72 % is slightly higher than the average (69 %) for this time of year. The Commission maintains regular monitoring and communication with Member States and market participants to ensure security of supply to the most affected Member States and to prevent speculation.
Around a quarter of all energy consumed in the EU comes from natural gas. Maintaining a secure supply is therefore essential to ensure energy security for EU citizens and businesses.
Gas supply disruptions can result from technical or human failures, natural disasters, cyber-attacks and other emerging risks or geopolitical disputes.
Many EU countries import almost all of their supplies and some of them are or have been heavily dependent on a single source, which means that a disruption on a single transport route can threaten the security of their gas supply.
A key example is Russia's unprovoked and unjustified full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and its attempt to weaponise the security of energy supplies to Europe. She pointed to the EU's over-reliance on a single unreliable supplier for almost half of its gas imports.
Since May 2022, the EU has taken a number of measures to eliminate its dependence on Russian fossil fuel imports through energy savings, diversification of supply and accelerating the deployment of renewable energy generation in Europe.
Termination of gas transit through Ukraine
The Ukraine-Russia gas transit agreement expired on 31 December 2024. In anticipation of this event, the Commission worked closely with the most affected Member States to prepare for the end of Russian gas imports via Ukraine. Thanks to proactive measures and cooperation, the EU was well prepared for this transition. The resilience of the EU gas system has further improved in recent years thanks to initiatives such as targets for filling gas storage, increasing LNG capacity, energy efficiency measures, the introduction of renewable energy sources and voluntary measures to reduce demand.
In an assessment carried out at the end of 2024, the Commission stated that the impact of the end of transit via Ukraine on the security of supply to the EU is expected to be limited. The 14 billion cubic metres per year still transiting through Ukraine could be fully replaced by LNG imports and non-Russian pipelines via alternative routes, demonstrating the flexibility and resilience of Europe's gas infrastructure. The meeting of the Gas Coordination Group on 2 January confirmed that no security of gas supply concerns have been identified in relation to the cessation of Russian gas flows to the EU. This successful preparedness effort underlines the importance of proactive planning and coordination in ensuring the EU's energy security and its ability to anticipate and adapt to potential supply disruptions.
Strengthening gas storage rules
Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Commission published a proposal in March 2022 to amend the Security of Supply Regulation, including measures to ensure well-filled gas storage in the EU. The proposal highlighted how gas storage contributes to security of supply by absorbing fluctuations in supply in the event of strong demand or supply disruptions. The European Parliament and the Council adopted the proposal in June 2022, setting a target to fill storage from 90 % by 31 December 2025.
Arrangements for solidarity
Regulation (EU) 2017/1938 introduced a solidarity mechanism that is only activated in the event of a gas emergency.
Its role is to help ensure that so-called "protected customers", such as households and hospitals, maintain access to gas even in the worst crisis situations. To this end, EU countries must ensure the necessary cross-border technical, legal and financial arrangements to make the flow of solidarity gas practically possible during an emergency.
On the basis of this Regulation, the following bilateral agreements were signed:
Germany, Italy and Switzerland (19 March 2024)
Slovenia and Croatia (14 July 2023)
Denmark and Sweden (8 May 2023)
Finland and Estonia (25 April 2022)
Italy and Slovenia (22 April 2022)
Lithuania and Latvia (10 March 2022)
Estonia and Latvia (4 January 2022)
Germany and Austria (2 December 2021)
Germany and Denmark (14 December 2020)
Europa.eu/ gnews - RoZ
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