Many EU countries reject solidarity agreements with gas

This comes from the current written report of the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Bundestag Climate Protection Committee and energy Outside, it is available to dpa. Al-Alam had previously reported the writing.

According to the letter, it is currently difficult to conclude emergency gas supply contracts with some EU countries. To date, Germany has concluded a solidarity agreement of this kind with Denmark and Austria. “In contrast, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Poland evade constructive negotiations and conclude bilateral solidarity agreements with us.”

The solidarity contracts are intended to regulate the operations and mutual obligations in relation to the natural gas deliveries that will be required “to ensure supplies of vital natural gas to protected customers (domestic customers, social services, in a broader sense: gas power plants that ensure grid stability)”, says the paper.

There are also obstacles in the ongoing negotiations with the Czech Republic and Italy. “The Italian side can only become active after the parliamentary elections,” the statement said. In general, according to the report, talks often fail due to the planned compensation rules: “If gas in Germany is to be confiscated in order to make it available to neighboring countries, Germany will have to pay compensation to the confiscated companies for gas. The loss of production, among other things; the countries mentioned In particular it rejects this regulation on the basis of reciprocity.” For now, “hardly any progress can be expected in starting negotiations on bilateral solidarity agreements.”

In response to a question from the German News Agency (dpa), the Ministry of Economic Affairs on Friday referred to the so-called gas supply security decree, which came into force at the end of 2018. Accordingly, the member states of the European Union, which are linked to each other, must Some cross the lines entering into bilateral solidarity agreements to supply privately protected customer groups.

In July, the Ministry of Economic Affairs agreed with the Czech Republic to conclude a contract by the onset of winter. The Netherlands has publicly stated that “in the event of an acute gas shortage, Germany will certainly stand by it”. Negotiations are underway with other countries.