The Security of Gas Supply: EU will reduce

vulnerability in case of crisis.

The plenary has approved the new Regulation on the security of gas supply, a major
step forward to a real European common energy policy that will also reduce vulnerability
to future gas supply disruptions in case of crisis.

"It is a real solution to a real problem", said Vice-President of the European Parliament
responsible for the proposal, Alejo Vidal-Quadras MEP, who expressed his satisfaction
at the "positive outcome after some months of hard work and negotiations" on the
subject.

The situation in the EU with regard to its energy supply security is well-known: the EU
does not have enough own gas resources and needs to rely on external supply,
creating a fragile and interdependent transnational supply system. The 2008 gas supply
crisis indeed showed that de facto there was enough gas in the EU pipelines to supply
all EU countries, but that it was national market rules and the lack of interconnecting
infrastructures between the Member States that failed to assist the countries directly
affected by the gas cut from Russia and Ukraine.

Through the adoption of this piece of legislation, Member States will share and respect
a common set of infrastructure and supply standards which will favor overall
interconnections and establish solidarity mechanisms between them, all of which under
an unprecedented European Commission supervision. It will also force Member States
to establish Preventive Action Plans and Emergency Plans in case of disruption. It will
also ensure the introduction of reverse flow technology in all interconnections between
Member States within 3 years.

Moreover, the Regulation provides that the European Commission can intervene when
any Government invokes an energy crisis, endangering the energy supply security of
any of its neighboring countries. "The Parliament has ensured that this Regulation will
not be used as a loophole for Governments to distort the internal market using the
excuse that there is a possible crisis. On the contrary, it will ensure that companies will
be able to sell gas where it is needed by reducing the possibility for Member States to
take action that could adversely affect their neighbors by restricting the flow of gas
within the EU", Vidal Quadras explained. In his view, "the market and its
interconnections are the first and best defense against potential future crises".

The EPP Group is by far the largest political group in the European Parliament with 265 Members.

Strasbourg, 21 September 2010

Mircea Halaciuga,Esq.
+4072458.1978
http://halaciuga.webs.com/