Regulation 2023/2919 - Amendment of Regulation (EU) 2022/2576 as regards the prolongation of its period of application - Main contents

Official Journal

of the European Union

EN

Series L

2023/2919

29.12.2023

Council Regulation (EU) 2022/2576 (1) was adopted in view of the gas supply crisis caused by Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine and the need for the Union to react with temporary measures in a spirit of solidarity between Member States. It aims at mitigating the impact on the price for gas by addressing its demand and supply, ensuring security of supply across the entire Union, and enhancing solidarity.

Regulation (EU) 2022/2576 provides a temporary legal framework in respect of better coordination of gas purchases, measures to prevent excessive gas prices and excessive intra-day volatility in energy derivatives markets, and measures in the event of a gas emergency.

The period of application of Regulation (EU) 2022/2576 was originally limited to 30 December 2023.

In accordance with Article 30 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2576, the Commission carried out a review of that Regulation and on 28 September 2023 issued a report summarising the main findings (‘the Report’). The Report concluded that Regulation (EU) 2022/2576 played an important role in stabilising the situation of the gas market and in ensuring adequate gas supply to the Union, and that it is an important element of the Union gas security of supply tool kit.

Regulation (EU) 2022/2576 provides for the expedited setting up of a service allowing for demand aggregation and joint gas purchasing and requires Member States to take appropriate measures to ensure that natural gas undertakings and undertakings consuming gas under their jurisdiction participate in the process of demand aggregation organised by the service provider as one of the possible means of meeting the filling targets referred to in Regulation (EU) 2017/1938 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2). Member States and natural gas undertakings as well as undertakings consuming gas have effectively participated in the demand aggregation and joint purchasing mechanism set up under Regulation (EU) 2022/2576 (‘AggregateEU’) and contributed to achieve, by October 2023, a total aggregation of 44,04 billion cubic metres of demand for gas, which is equivalent to more than three times the mandatory amounts for demand aggregation. This shows that AggregateEU attracted significant interest by market participants.

The Report concluded that AggregateEU provided additional opportunities for European buyers to procure gas from reliable suppliers in competitive conditions, as well as market transparency on demand and supply, thereby contributing to the decreasing volatility of markets.

As regards market oversight rules, Regulation (EU) 2022/2576 requires trading venues on which energy-related commodity derivatives are traded to set up, for each energy-related commodity derivative traded on it, an intra-day volatility management mechanism based on an upper and lower price boundary that defines the prices above and below which orders may not be executed (‘intra-day volatility management mechanism’). The Report found that gas markets still feature episodes of significant volatility and that the intra-day volatility management mechanism may play a role in preventing excessive price spikes and in stabilising the market.

Pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2022/2576, the European...