21 Amendments of Lieve WIERINCK related to 2016/0030(COD)
Amendment 129 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) Natural gas (gas) remainis an essential component of the energy supply of the Union. A large proportion of such gas is imported into the Union from third countrThis makes security of gas supply a key element of the Union's overall energy security, with relevance to the Union's competitiveness and growth. Even though more than 50 % of gas consumption in the Union and the rest of the European Economic Area is currently covered by domestic production, a growing proportion of gas is imported from third countries. Enhancing the Union's energy security and making its gas market more resilient thus requires creating a stable, market-based regulatory framework for developing gas production from domestic sources, increasing energy efficiency as well as addressing by diversification of suppliers dependence on dominant external suppliers.
Amendment 144 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) A major disruption of the gas supply can affect all Member States, the Union as a whole and Contracting Parties to the Treaty establishing the Energy Community, signed in Athens on 25 October 2005. It can also severelypotentially under certain circumstances damage the Union economy and can have a major social impact, particularly on vulnerable groups of customers.
Amendment 161 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) The Commission Communication 'Framework Strategy for a Resilient Energy Union with a Forward-Looking Climate Change Policy'14 from February 2015, highlights the fact that the Energy Union rests on solidarity and trust, which are necessary features of energy security. This regulation should aim to boost solidarity and trust between the Member States and should put in place the measures needed to achieve these aims, thus paving the way forcontributing to implementing the Energy Union. __________________ 14 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Investment Bank, COM(2015) 80 final.
Amendment 181 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) In a spirit of respect to market economy principles, solidarity, regional cooperation, which involvinges both public authorities and natural gas undertakings, should be is the guiding principle of this Regulation, towith the aim of identifying the relevant risks in each region and, optimiseing the benefits of coordinated measures to mitigate them and to implement the most cost-effective measures for Union consumer, while ensuring that the measures are cost-effective for customers. Regional cooperation should gradually be complemented with a stronger Union perspective, allowing recourse to all available supplies and tools in the entire internal gas market. This could be facilitated by providing in-depth analysis and forecast at Union level on the relevant current and future Emergency Supply Corridors, based on gas supply sources common for a group of Member States.
Amendment 193 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) Responsibility for security of gas supply should be shared by natural gas undertakings, Member States, acting through their competent authorities; and the Commission, within their respective remits. Such shared responsibility requires very close cooperation between these parties. However, customers using gas for electricity generation or industrial purposes may also have an important role to play in security of gas supply, as they can respond to a crisis by taking demand-side measures such as interruptible contracts and fuel switching, which have an immediate impact on the supply/demand balance. In the case of certain gas-fired power plants of critical importance, the potential impact of their loss to the electricity system should be thoroughly assessed.
Amendment 203 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) Regulation (EU) No 994/2010 requires transmission system operators to enable permanent bi-directional capacity on all cross-border interconnections unless an exemption has been granted from this obligation. It aims to ensure that the possible benefits of permanent bi- directional capacity are always taken into account when a new interconnector is planned. However, bi-directional capacity can be used to supply gas both to the neighbouring Member State and to others along the gas supply corridor. The benefits for security of supply of enabling permanent bi-directional capacity thus need to be seen in a broader perspective, in a spirit of solidarity and enhanced cooperation. A cost-benefit analysis that takes account of the whole transportation corridor should therefore be conducted when considering whether to implement bi- directional capacity. The competent authorities should accordingly be required to re- examine the exemptions granted under Regulation (EU) 994/2010 on the basis of the results of the regional risk assessments. The overall objective should be to have a growing bi-directional capacity and keep one-directional capacity future cross- border projects to the minimum.
Amendment 219 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) The regions are toshould be defined, on a bottom up basis as far as possible, on the basis of existing regional cooperation structures set up by the Member States and the Commission, in particular the regional groups set up under Regulation (EU) 347/2013 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure17 (the TEN-E Regulation). However, since this Regulation and the TEN-E Regulation have different aims, the respective regional groups may differ in size and design. __________________ 17 Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2013 on guidelines for trans- European energy infrastructure and repealing Decision No 1364/2006/EC and amending Regulation (EC) No 713/2009, (EC) 714/2009 and (EC) No 715/2009 (OJ EU L 115 of 25.4.2013, p. 39).
Amendment 231 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) For the purpose of this Regulation, the following criteria should therefore be taken into account when defining the regional groups: supply patterns, existing and planned corridors, interconnections and interconnection capacity between Member States, market development and maturity, existing regional cooperation structures, and the number of Member States in a region, which should be limited to ensure that the group remains of a manageable size.
Amendment 243 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) When conducting a comprehensive risk assessment to be prepared at regional level, competent authorities should assess natural, technological, infrastructural, commercial, financial, social, political and market- related risks, and any other relevant ones, including, where appropriate, the disruption of the supplies from the single largest supplier. All risks should be addressed by effective, proportionate and non-discriminatory measures to be developed in the preventive action plan and the emergency plan. These plans should be subject to a consultation process with the industry. The competent authorities should consider also the opportunities offered by decentralized, sustainable and affordable solutions, including biogas, as well as the EU-wide energy efficiency targets. The results of the risk assessments should also contribute to the all hazard risk assessments foreseen under article 6 of Decision No 1313/2013/EU18 . __________________ 18 Decision No 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 24).
Amendment 268 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 26
Recital 26
(26) Whenever Member States as a last resort plan to introduce non-market-based measures, such measures should be accompanied by a description of their economic impact and a mechanism of compensation to the operators. This ensures customers have the information they need about the costs of such measures and ensures that the measures are transparent, especially as regards their share in the gas price.
Amendment 304 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 38
Recital 38
(38) To assess the security of supply situation of a given Member State or region or of the Union, access to the relevant information is essential. In particular, Member States and the Commission need regular access to information from natural gas undertakings regarding the main parameters of the gas supply as a fundamental input in the design of the security of supply policies. Under duly justified circumstances, irrespective of a declaration of emergency, access should also be possible to additional information needed to assess the overall gas supply situation. That additional information would typically be non-price-related gas delivery information, e.g. minimum and maximum gas volumes, delivery points or supply margins. It could, for example, be requested in the event of changes in the pattern of the gas supply to a given buyer or buyers in a Member State which would not be expected if the markets were functioning normally and which could affect the gas supply of the Union or parts of it. If the information provided is considered by the provider as one containing commercial secrets, the information will be treated as such.
Amendment 328 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 42
Recital 42
(42) Since gas supplies from third countries are central to the security of the Union gas supply, the Commission should coordinate action with regard to third countries, work with supplying and transit countries on arrangements to handle crisis situations and ensure a stable gas flow to the Union. The Commission should be entitled to deploy a task force to monitor gas flows into the Union permanently and in crisis situations especially, in consultation with the third countries involved, and, where a crisis arises from difficulties in a third country, to act as mediator and facilitator.
Amendment 339 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 45
Recital 45
(45) To allow for a swift Union response to changing circumstances as regards security of gas supply, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amendment of regions and templates for risk assessment and plans. It is particularly important that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level. When preparing and drawing up delegated acts, it should ensure that relevant documents are simultaneously sent to the European Parliament and the Council, in good time and in the appropriate mannerthe Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of 13 April 2016 is fully respected.
Amendment 390 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 6
Article 3 – paragraph 6
6. The measures to ensure the security of supply contained in the preventive action plans and in the emergency plans shall be clearly defined, to the highest degree possible market based, transparent, proportionate, non-discriminatory and verifiable, shall not, undulyless absolutely unavoidable, distort competition and the effective functioning of the internal market in gas and shall not endanger the security of gas supply of other Member States or of the Union as a whole.
Amendment 406 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 3
Article 3 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 3
The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 18 and strictly in line with the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of 13 April 2016 to amend Annex I based on the criteria set out in the first subparagraph of this paragraph if the circumstances warrant a need for a change of a region.
Amendment 419 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 6
Article 4 – paragraph 6
6. In so far as an investment for enabling or enhancing permanent bi- directional capacity is not required by the market and where that investment incurs costs in more than one Member State or in one Member State for the benefit of another Member State, the national regulatory authorities of all Member States concerned shall jointly decide on cost allocation before any investment decision is taken and explore the possibility and viability of EU funding. The cost allocation shall in particular take into account the proportion of the benefits of the infrastructure investments for the increase of security of supply of the Member States concerned as well as investments already made in the infrastructure in question.
Amendment 458 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 5 a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. When meeting the obligations under this Article, natural gas undertakings shall subscribe the capacity necessary to the physical delivery of gas.
Amendment 468 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. The competent authorities of each region as listed in Annex I shall jointly and in consultation with relevant stakeholders make an assessment at regional level of all risks affecting the security of gas supply. The assessment shall take into account all relevant risks such as natural disasters, technological, commercial, social, political and other risks. The risk assessment shall be carried out by:
Amendment 492 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. The Commission may share experience gained in conducting a risk assessment in one region with other regions, wherever appropriate, and thereby contribute to ensuring also a cross regional focus.
Amendment 588 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point e a (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point e a (new)
(ea) assessment of opportunities offered by decentralized, sustainable and affordable solutions, including biogas, as well as the EU-wide energy efficiency targets.
Amendment 723 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 4
Article 13 – paragraph 4
4. In duly justified circumstances irrespective of a declaration of emergency, the competent authority may require gas undertakings to provide the information referred to in paragraph 1 or additional information necessary to assess the overall situation of the gas supply in the Member State or other Member States, including contractual information. The Commission may request from the competent authorities the information provided by natural gas undertakings. The Commission in doing so will refrain from unnecessary administrative burden and will not disclose commercially sensitive information.