Gas: MEPs strengthen EU rules on pipelines to and from third countries | WPN World People News

● EU gas market rules must apply to all new and existing pipelines to and from non-EU countries

● Exemptions must be strictly time limited

● EU economic sanctions against third countries must be taken into account

EU gas market rules must apply to all pipelines entering or leaving the EU, with strictly limited exceptions, Energy Committee MEPs agreed on Wednesday.

All gas pipelines from third countries into the EU must comply fully with EU gas market rules on EU territory, say amendments to the EU gas market Directive, as approved by the Industry and Energy Committee on Wednesday, by 41 votes to 13 with 9 abstentions. Any exceptions must be strictly time-limited, and the EU Commission and member states affected must be involved in deciding them, insist MEPs.

These EU “Third Energy Package” rules govern, inter alia, third-party access, transparency requirements, fair tariffs and proper separation of producers from distributors in the gas supply chain.

More specifically, gas pipelines from e.g. Russia (including Nord Stream 2), Norway, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco must comply with key provisions for the creation of an internal gas market, such as the unbundling of transmission system operators (TSOs), supervision by independent regulatory authorities, and third party access to infrastructure, say MEPs.

Stricter rules on exceptions

MEPs also tightened up the conditions that must be met before exceptions can be made to gas market rules, such as derogations (for existing pipelines) or exemptions (for yet to be built ones). These:

impose a 5-year maximum fixed time-limit for exemptions;
increase EU Commission involvement in deciding derogations;
involve member states whose markets could be affected by pipeline infrastructure, as well as the authorities of the relevant third country, in deciding derogations and exemptions.

Sanctions against third countries should be taken into account

The committee also amended the proposal to say that, when deciding upon exemptions for new pipelines entering the EU, the Commission should consider any EU restrictive measures, such as economic sanctions, imposed on that third country.

Source: European Parliament