SOLIDITY STEPS IN THE EVENT OF GAS CRISES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION LEGISLATION
Section "Law": Economic and legal comparative research
Abstract
The European Union (EU) put into place new Regulation (EU) 2017/1938 on security of gas supply and revocation of Regulation (EU) 994/2010. The present article provides the critical assessment of new Regulation (EU) 2017/1938. Many instruments of the predecessor Regulation (EU) 994/2014 stay in place unchanged, although their implementation in new legislation has undoubtedly brought about some changes in such instruments. In any case, the present article focuses on the novelties and changes that Regulation (EU) 2017/1938 is bringing about.
After providing some opening remarks on the structure and tasks of Regulation (EU) 2017/1938, the present article examines the two main novelties of Regulation (EU) 2017/1938 which should fulfill the main goal of the new legislation, i.e. to implement the new solidarity mechanism in case of gas disruptions. In order to achieve the goal in question, Regulation (EU) 2017/1938 sets forth for the first time the clustering of Member States into gas supply risk groups, on the one hand, and establishment of the solidarity measures under Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1938 that Member States are obliged to accept and perform in case of gas disruptions, on the other hand.
The solidarity measures are the main novelty of Regulation (EU) 2017/1938 since the need to adjust bi-directional interconnection capacity (or reverse flow) was the only concrete solidarity measure used in the previous legislative acts and acts of secondary legislation. Along with fulfillment of such solidarity measures, the article also examines the legal recognition of an exemption from the obligation to perform the solidarity measures that was required in some cases. The other novelties of Regulation (EU) 2017/1938 are also highlighted and critically considered. The conclusions on practical efficiency and effectiveness of the mentioned novelties of the legislation for the EU and Ukraine are also provided.
Keywords
Energy Law, energy legislation, principles of law, gas supply security, solidarity mechanism, energy security, Regulation 2017/1938
Downloads
References
2. Regulation (EU) 994/2010 of 20 October 2010 concerning measures to safeguard security of gas supply and repealing Council Directive 2004/67/EC. Official Journal of the European Union. 2010. L 295. P. 1-22.
3. 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. Official Journal of the European Union. 2017. L 280. P. 1-56.
4. Council Directive 2004/67/EC of 26 April 2004 concerning measures to safeguard security of natural gas supply. Official Journal of the European Union. 2004. L 127. P. 92-96.
5. Commission Staff Working Document "Report on the implementation of Regulation (EU) 994/2010 and its contribution to solidarity and preparedness for gas disruptions in the EU". European Commission. Brussels. 16.10.2014. URL: https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/files/documents/SWD%202014%20325%20Implementation%20of%20the%20Gas%20SoS%20Regulation%20en.pdf (last accessed: 07.06.2019).
6. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the short term resilience of the European gas system. COM(2014) 654 final. European Commission. Brussels. 16.10.2014. URL: https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/files/documents/2014_stresstests_com_en.pdf (last accessed: 07.06.2019).
7. Briefing EU Legislation in Progress New rules on security of gas supply. European Parliament. November 2017. URL: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2017/608810/EPRS_BRI(2017)608810_EN.pdf (last accessed: 07.06.2019).
8. New act aims to minimize gas production from Groningen Field. International Law Office. 11 March 2019 . URL: https://www.internationallawoffice.com/Newsletters/Energy-Natural-Resources/Netherlands/Stek-Advocaten-BV/New-act-aims-to-minimise-gas-production-from-Groningen-Field (last accessed: 11.06.2019).
9. Five Western EU Countries Seek to Soften Gas Security Proposal. Bloomberg. 8 April 2016. URL: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-08/five-western-eu-countries-seek-to-soften-gas-security-proposal (last accessed: 11.06.2019).
10. Why is the Commission proposing a new security of supply regulation now? European Comission. Brussels.16 February 2016. URL: https://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-16-308_en.htm (last accessed: 11.06.2019).
11. Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Official Journal of the European Union. 2012. С 326. P. 47-390.
12. Council Directive 2008/114/EC of 8 December 2008 on the identification and designation of European critical infrastructures and the assessment of the need to improve their protection. Official Journal of the European Union. 2008. L 345. P. 75-82.
13. ENTSOG Union-Wide. Security of Supply Simulation Report. 2017. URL: https://www.entsog.eu/sites/default/files/files-old-website/publications/sos/ENTSOG%20Union%20wide%20SoS%20simulation%20report_INV0262-171121.pdf (last accessed: 11.06.2019).
14. Zillman D., Godden L., Paddock L., and Roggenkamp M. Innovation in Energy Law and Technology: Dynamic Solutions for Energy Transitions. Oxford University Press, 2018. 464 p.
Abstract views: 314 PDF Downloads: 204
