The Member States of the European Union and the Commission “will urgently work together on voluntary purchases of gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen”, according to the conclusions of the Brussels summit.
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The States of the European Union decided on Friday 25 March to give a mandate to the European Commission to make grouped purchases of gas, on the model of Covid vaccine orderswhile war in ukraine drives up energy prices.
The Twenty-Seven and the Commission “will urgently work together on voluntary purchases of gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen”by taking advantage of the economic weight of the EU to benefit from advantageous prices, according to the conclusions of the Brussels summit.
“Group purchasing, the ability to define long contracts together, is the best instrument for bringing prices down”argued Emmanuel Macron during a press conference.
“The Commission can aggregate up to 75% of gas purchases”either by renegotiating existing contracts or by concluding new ones, specified the French president, whose country holds the six-monthly presidency of the EU.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has stressed that participation in the mechanism will be voluntary, unlike the pooled vaccine purchase scheme, which excluded orders from outside the Commission. “We agreed that this is an opportunity to cooperate voluntarily for gas purchases”he observed in front of the press.
“Of course, when you look at specific cases, it can be complicated, very complicated, because there are private companies all over Europe,” engaged in contracts, “who buy gas on their behalf and intend to continue”he explained.