New gas market rules make Europe greener and less dependent

This afternoon, the Parliament and the Member States agreed on a new law to make the energy market fit for the EU's climate and energy goals.

"Today's agreement is great news for our security, and not just in the field of energy. The more energy we produce ourselves, the less dependent we will be on monopolists. In this spirit, we are also introducing a legal possibility for EU countries to phase out any gas from Russia. It's the most far-reaching legislation of its kind in history," said EPP Group MEP Jerzy Buzek, the European Parliament's lead negotiator on the legislation.

"This will also be an unprecedented regulation because, for the first time in history, we are creating a legal framework for hydrogen on the EU energy market. We are building a completely new energy market model in the EU, based primarily on green electricity and green gases. This will help us meet our ambitious climate goals while ensuring the competitiveness of our European industry, businesses and SMEs. Secondly, we will enshrine the voluntary mechanism of joint gas purchasing into EU law," Buzek continued.

"Additionally, we want to include hydrogen in this mechanism, for now in the form of a multi-year pilot project. Thirdly, we have set targets for Member States to produce biomethane. The regulation will create the possibility to introduce tariff reductions for the transmission of this gas and to reduce the cost of connecting installations producing renewable gases to the network. Fourthly, we will provide support for green hydrogen and renewable gases in mining and energy-intensive regions. This is of crucial importance to make our energy transformation just and inclusive," said Buzek.

Today's agreement will be subject to approval by Member States and the European Parliament early next year.