Safeguard Measures for Increased Security of Gas Supply: Regulation (EU) No 944/2010 Enters into Force

Today, 2 December 2010, enters into force Regulation (EU) No. 994/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 concerning measures to safeguard security of gas supply and repealing Council Directive 2004/67/EC (OJ L295, 12.11.2010, p.1).

Pursuant to its Article 1, the Regulation aims to:

• safeguard the security of gas supply by ensuring the proper and continuous functioning of the internal market in natural gas, by allowing for exceptional measures to be implemented when the market can no longer deliver the required gas supplies and by providing for a clear definition and attribution of responsibilities among natural gas udnertakings, the Member States and the Union regarding both preventive action and the reaction to concrete disruptions of supply;
• establish transparent mechanisms for the coordination of planning for, and response to, an emergency at Member States, regional and Union levels.

References: MEMO/10/641, European Commission.