REPowerEU: Commission establishes the EU Energy Platform Task Force to secure alternative supplies
Today, the Commission has set up a new Task Force within its Directorate-General for Energy, to provide support to the EU Energy Platform and implement the REPowerEU goal of supply diversification. Following a mandate from the European Council in March 2022, the Commission and Member States have established the EU Energy Platform to coordinate measures to secure energy supplies for the EU, including through the voluntary common purchase of pipeline gas, LNG and hydrogen. The new Task Force will help deliver on the REPowerEU objective of reducing our dependence on Russian fossil fuels, by enabling Member States and neighbouring countries to have access to alternative energy supplies at affordable prices in the coming years.
Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, said: “In our REPowerEU Plan we outlined how Europe can get rid of Russian fossil fuels. Now we are giving ourselves the tools to make it happen. It is time to diversify our energy supplies and make best use of our infrastructure. The Energy Platform Task Force will contribute to Europe’s energy security and independence. Through the collective political and economic weight of the EU’s 27 Member States and 440 million citizens, we will work to ensure affordable and secure energy imports.”
The Energy Platform Task Force will start work next week, on 1 June, and immediately tackle the new tasks outlined in the REPowerEU Plan adopted on 18 May. It will work towards demand aggregation, coordination of capacity and negotiation of energy supplies, while also providing support for the Regional Task Forces of Member States and neighbouring countries. Furthermore, it will manage outreach to international partners.
The new Task Force will consist of three units, headed by a Director and reporting to a newly appointed Deputy Director-General, Matthew Baldwin, and to the Director-General for Energy Ditte Juul Jørgensen, under the political supervision of Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson. The units of the Task Force will deal with: global demand and international negotiations; relations with the Member States and the neighbourhood; and international relations.
Background
The Commission proposed to create a platform for common gas and hydrogen purchases at EU level in March, when it outlined options to mitigate high energy prices. The idea was endorsed by the EU’s Heads of State or Government at the European Council on 25 March.
On 7 April, the Commission established the EU Energy Platform with the Member States at a first meeting chaired by Director-General for Energy, Ditte Juul Jørgensen. It was agreed that the Platform will be a voluntary coordination mechanism supporting the purchase of gas and hydrogen for the Union, making optimal use of the collective political and market of the EU.
On 5 May, the Commission and Bulgaria set up a first Regional Taskforce, as part of the EU’s Energy Platform, in coordination with neighbours in the South East of Europe. Further Regional Task Forces, covering Central Eastern Europe, North-West and the Baltics will be proposed soon.
In the REPowerEU Plan, the Commission announced that as a next step, and replicating the ambition of the common vaccine purchasing programme, it will consider the development of a ‘joint purchasing mechanism’ which will negotiate and contract gas purchases on behalf of participating Member States.
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