If the EU wants to be fully prepared to face a new gas crisis there is still much to be done, warns a new report of the European Court of Auditors published in recent days. Despite the emergency measures taken in response to the use of gas supplies as a weapon by the Russiathe benefits brought by such EU actions are not always clear.
The European Court of Auditors highlights new challenges the EU faces if it wants to ensure long-term security of gas supply, such as increased dependence on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the need to decarbonise part of its gas consumption gas.
“The crisis triggered by Russian aggression towards Ukraine in 2022 tested the EU’s resilience to a sudden change in gas supply. Despite the surge in prices and the significant costs to families and businesses this has entailed, we have fortunately not experienced a serious gas shortage” he has declared João Leão, the Court Member responsible for the audit. “Given that the EU is dependent on foreign gas, it can never rest on its laurels when it comes to security of supply. And consumers have no guarantee of its affordability in the event of a future severe shortage”.
During the crisis, the EU achieved its goal of reduce gas demand by 15%, but we were unable to establish whether this was due to the measures taken alone or also to external factors (e.g. high gas prices and a mild winter). Similarly, the obligation to filling of gas storage facilities throughout the EU has been respected and the 90% target is was even surpassed. In practice, however, these are normal filling levels before the crisis. Furthermore, it is impossible to evaluate the effectiveness of the gas price cap given that prices have remained low since it was introduced.
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