Activities of Monika SMOLKOVÁ related to 2016/0030(COD)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning measures to safeguard the security of gas supply and repealing Regulation (EU) No 994/2010
Amendments (17)
Amendment 48 #
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 severely damage the Union economy and can have a major social impact, particularly on vulnerable groups of customers, in particular in countries dependent on a single gas supplier.
Amendment 51 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) This Regulation aims to ensure that all the necessary measures are taken to safeguard an uninterrupted supply of gas throughout the Union, in particular to protected customers in the event of difficult climatic conditions or disruptions of the gas supply. These objectives should be achieved through the most cost-effective measures and in such a way that energy markets are not distorted. Account should also be taken in the broader context of the security of gas supply, which should also be achieved through better diversification of supplies from third countries and the use of alternative energy sources.
Amendment 70 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) In a spirit of solidarity, regional cooperation, involving both public authorities and natural gas undertakings, should be the guiding principle of this Regulation, to identify the relevant risks in each region and optimise the benefits of coordinated measures to mitigate them and to implement the most cost-effective measures for Union consumers. Regional cooperation should provide scope for improving the existing and developing new infrastructure projects so that cross- border interconnections enhance security of gas supply.
Amendment 83 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) A regional approach to assessing risks and defining and adopting preventive and mitigating measures enables efforts to be coordinated, bringing significant benefits in terms of the effectiveness of measures and optimisation of resources. This applies particularly to measures designed to guarantee a continued supply, under very demanding conditions, to protected customers, and to measures to mitigate the impact of an emergency. Assessing correlated risks at regional level, which is both more comprehensive and more precise, will ensure that Member States are better prepared for any crises. Moreover, in an emergency, a coordinated and pre-agreed approach to security of supply ensures a consistent response and reduces the risk of negative spill-over effects that purely national measures could have in neighbouring Member States. This regional approach does not, however, relieve the Member States of responsibility for the management of their national security of supply standards, nor does it create obstacles to inter-regional or bilateral cooperation beyond the scope of Annex I to this Regulation.
Amendment 118 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point 2
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point 2
(2) ‘essential social service’ means a healthcare, emergency or security service, or an education or public administration service’;
Amendment 122 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. The Commission shall actively support the diversification of supplies from third countries, in terms of both energy resources, gas suppliers and gas routes. For this purpose the Commission shall create conditions for improving energy infrastructure interconnections between Member States and for completion of the gas transmission routes defined by the priority corridors of Regulation (EU) No 347/20131a (TEN-E Regulation) _________________ 1a 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 Regulations (EC) No 713/2009, (EC) No 714/2009 and (EC) No 715/2009 (OJ L 115, 25.4.2013, p. 39).
Amendment 124 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 6
Article 3 – paragraph 6
6. Preventive action plans and emergency plans shall be based on national standards for security of gas supply. The measures to ensure the security of supply contained in the preventive action plans and in the emergency plans shall be clearly defined, transparent, proportionate, non-discriminatory and verifiable, shall not unduly 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 127 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 2
Article 3 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 2
The list of the regions and their composition is set out in Annex I. The regions and their composition set out in that Annex shall be used solely for the purposes of this Regulation and shall not create an obstacle for Member States to establish other inter-regional and bilateral forms of cooperation.
Amendment 134 #
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, on the basis of an assessment of the risks for individual Member States in each region, jointly 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 157 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point j a (new)
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point j a (new)
(ja) set out the procedures to be applied in the event of a failure of the gas supply in several Member States at the same time, and the procedures in the event of a reduction in the stockpiles in a Member State caused by their use as compensation under the solidarity principle;
Amendment 167 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 4
Article 12 – paragraph 4
4. The technical, legal and financial arrangements for the application of paragraph 3 shall be agreed among the Member States which are directly connected to each other and described in the emergency plans of their respective regions. Such arrangements mayFor each of the regional groupings, the Commission shall prepare a minimum framework for the proposed mechanisms, which will cover, among others, gas prices to be applied, use of interconnectors, including bi-directional capacity, gas volumes and the coverage of compensation costs. Market-based measures such as auctions shall be preferred for the implementation of the obligation laid down in paragraph 3. In case the technical, legal and financial arrangements necessary to apply paragraph 3 are amended, the relevant emergency plan shall be updated accordingly.
Amendment 175 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. The second sentence of Article 3(2), Article 3(6), Article 4(3), (4) and (6), Article 5(2), point (d) of Article 6(1), points (b) and (e) of Article 7(5), points (e), (g), (i), of Article 8(1), point (b) and (c) of Article 8(4), points (j), ja) and (m) of Article 9(1), Article 9(4), Article 10(4), Article 11(5) and Article 12 shall create obligations for the Members States towards an Energy Community Contracting Party subject to the following procedure:
Amendment 176 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) So far, the potential forof regional cooperation to introduce more efficient and less costly measures through regional cooperation has not been fully exploited. This has to do not only withapplies to better coordination of national mitigation actions in emergency situations, but also of as well as to national preventive measures, such as improved energy efficiency, national storage or policies related to liquefied natural gas (LNG), which can be strategically important in certain regions.
Amendment 176 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. In the event of the application of the solidarity principle referred to in Article 12, the Energy Community Contracting Parties shall provide the authorities of neighbouring Member States with sufficient information in accordance with Article 13.
Amendment 182 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) In a spirit of 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 imp, whilem ent the most cost-effective measures for Union consumersuring that the measures are cost-effective for customers and ensuring affordable energy prices for citizens. This could be facilitated by providing in-depth analysis at Union level on the relevant Emergency Supply Corridors, based on gas supply sources common for a group of Member States.
Amendment 704 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 4
Article 12 – paragraph 4
4. The technical, legal and financial arrangements for the application of paragraph 3 shall be agreed among the Member States which are directly connected to each other and described in the emergency plans of their respective regions. Such arrangements may cover, among others, gas prices to be applied, use of interconnectors, including bi-directional capacity, gas volumes and the coverage of compensation costs. Market-based measures such as auctions shall be preferred for the implementation of the obligation laid down in paragraph 3. In case the technical, legal and financial arrangements necessary to apply paragraph 3 are amended, the relevant emergency plan shall be updated accordingly. The Commission shall oversee the fairness of the technical, legal and financial arrangements for the application of paragraph 3.
Amendment 775 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. The second sentence of Article 3(2), Article 3(6), Article 4(3), (4) and (6), Article 5(2), point (d) of Article 6(1), points (b) and (e) of Article 7(5), points (e), (g), (i), of Article 8(1), point (b) and (c) of Article 8(4), points (j) and (m) of Article 9(1), Article 9(4), Article 10(4), Article 11(5) and Article 12 shall create obligations for the Members States towards an Energy Community Contracting Party subject to the following procedure: