Regulation 2017/1938 - Measures to safeguard the security of gas supply - Main contents

Gas supply security in the EU

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation 2017/1938 aiming to safeguard an uninterrupted supply of gas throughout the EU

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THIS REGULATION?

It aims to strengthen EU energy security by helping prevent potential supply disruptions — and to respond to them when they occur — to ensure that households and other vulnerable consumers are always supplied.

The regulation forms part of the Energy Union package, which aims to make energy secure, affordable and sustainable through closer cooperation between EU countries.

KEY POINTS

Gas security of supply is the shared responsibility of natural gas companies, EU countries and the European Commission. The main elements of the regulation are:

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  better cooperation and coordination between groups of EU countries in regional groups to assess common supply risks together and to develop and agree on joint preventive and emergency measures;
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  introduction of the solidarity mechanism through which EU countries must help each other to always guarantee gas supply to the most vulnerable consumers — even in severe gas supply situations — under fair compensation conditions by the country receiving solidarity;
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  improvement of transparency thanks to the obligation placed on gas companies to notify to their national authority their major long-term gas supply contracts that may be relevant for security of supply;
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  the European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSOG) will carry out a 4-yearly EU-wide simulation of gas supply and infrastructure disruption scenarios;
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  EU countries have specific obligations to the Energy Community, with the Commission coordinating the legal rules.

Repeal

The regulation repeals Regulation (EU) No 994/2010.

FROM WHEN DOES THIS REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 1 November 2017.

BACKGROUND

For more information, see:

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  Secure gas supplies (European Commission).

MAIN DOCUMENT

Regulation (EU) 2017/1938 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2017 concerning measures to safeguard the security of gas supply and repealing Regulation (EU) No 994/2010 (OJ L 280, 28.10.2017, pp. 1-56)

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Communication from the Commission the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Investment Bank – Framework Strategy for a Resilient Energy Union with a Forward-Looking Climate Change Policy (COM(2015) 80 final, 25.2.2015)

Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2013 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure and repealing Decision No 1364/2006/EC and amending Regulations (EC) No 713/2009, (EC) No 714/2009 and (EC) No 715/2009 (OJ L 115, 25.4.2013, pp. 39-75)

Directive 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas and repealing Directive 2003/55/EC (OJ L 211, 14.8.2009, pp. 94-136)

last update 30.08.2018

This summary has been adopted from EUR-Lex.