BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. The European Commission will consider developing a voluntary operational ‘joint purchasing mechanism’ responsible for negotiating and contracting on behalf of participating Member States of the aggregated gas demand and competitive release to the market, Trend reports with reference to the REPowerEU Plan presented by the European Commission.
Such mechanism could take the form of a Joint Venture or a business-owned entity, leveraging the power of the European market. Such a construct will be subject to review of its impact on competition.
Following the mandate by the European Council in March, the Commission and Member States have set up an EU Energy Platform for the voluntary common purchase of gas, LNG and hydrogen. On 5 May, the Commission and Bulgaria set up a first regional taskforce, as part of the EU's Energy Purchase Platform, in coordination with neighbours in the south east of Europe.
The Platform will also work through Regional Task Forces, which will identify needs and diversification of supply options and coordinate on contractual issues. The Platform will set up a dedicated work stream with Member States on joint purchasing of hydrogen. Industry expertise on the global energy market will be important for the success of the Platform. An Advisory Group will inform the Platform on issues such as LNG trade, financing, hedging and other elements along the value chain. The exchange of information will have to be compliant with antitrust rules. In line with the conclusions of the European Council the EU Energy Platform is open for the Energy Community Contracting Parties (Western Balkans, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia).
The Platform should also benefit EU’s partners in its close neighbourhood, partners who are committed to the EU’s internal market rules and joint security of supply. The Platform will work closely with the Energy Community Secretariat to assist the Contracting Parties to make the most of the Platform.
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