Answer given by Ms Simson on behalf of the European Commission
12.5.2022
Security of supply is a shared competence between the Commission and Member States. The latter can nationally declare a level of crisis based on their preparedness. As per the Security of Gas Supply Regulation[1], the Commission can declare a regional or Union emergency at the request of competent authorities of the Member States having declared a national emergency.
According to Article 122 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Council, on a proposal from the Commission, may decide upon measures appropriate to the economic situation, in particular if severe difficulties arise in the supply of energy commodities.
Under certain conditions, Union financial assistance may be granted to Member States threatened with severe difficulties, on a proposal from the Commission.
In February 2022, the Commission together with ENTSOG[2], JRC[3] and Member States, carried out a risk preparedness analysis, modelling different disruption scenarios from the East and the effect on storage levels at the end of the winter. This assessment confirmed there was no immediate security of supply risk.
The Commission is now extending this analysis to assess the EU’s immediate preparedness in case of a full disruption of Russian gas. However, these analyses differ from the risk assessment that was set out in Article 9(c) of Regulation (EU) 994/2010[4] and the current Article 7 of the Security of Gas Supply Regulation, which concern obligations of the Competent Authorities of Member States and ENTSOG.
- [1] 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 (europa.eu)
- [2] European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG).
- [3] Joint Research Centre.
- [4] Regulation (EU) No 994/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 concerning measures to safeguard security of gas supply and repealing Council Directive 2004/67/EC Text with EEA relevance (europa.eu)