Today, for the second time, the Commission is giving European companies the possibility to register their gas purchase needs through the AggregateEU ​​mechanism, in order to buy gas together on the international market.

As recently announced by the Vice-President Mr. Maros Sefcovic, this second round is based on the success of the first tender, in which reliable suppliers submitted offers that fully covered the total European gas demand of almost 11 billion cubic meters.

In this second round, European companies can respond to the call to aggregate natural gas demand from June 26 to July 3. The collective demand will then be auctioned on the global market from 7 to 10 July so that international suppliers can bid to supply European customers. Potential buyers will be able to register their demand for natural gas to be delivered from August 2023 to March 2025, a longer period than in the first round.

Vice-President Seftsovic said: “The EU’s energy platform for the common gas market is working satisfactorily and shows how Europe can work in the best possible way. It is important that we join forces to ensure a stable and affordable supply of natural gas to the EU market, for the benefit of our businesses and citizens. As we enter a critical stage of the restocking period, I would urge both buyers and suppliers to make the most of this new shopping platform ahead of winter.”

Aggregation of demand and the joint purchase of natural gas is an important initiative under the EU Energy Platform, which was created to enhance the diversification of the EU’s natural gas supply following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the EU’s collective decision to become independent of Russian fossil fuel imports.

Katerina Plati