The Council of the EU has officially approved the extension of the three regulations introduced after the beginning of Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine. They are designed for emergencies in the energy sector, ensuring the security of energy supplies and protection against their high prices.

Source: Interfax-Ukraine with reference to the Council of the EU’s official statement

Quote: “Today ministers reached a political agreement on extending the period of application of three emergency Council regulations adopted under article 122 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, designed for emergency situations.”

Details: These extraordinary measures, as the council noted, were adopted last year after the beginning of the Russian full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine “to enhance solidarity between member states, accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and protect EU citizens from excessively high energy prices”.

The EU Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council reached a political agreement among member states to extend the validity of three emergency resolutions on 19 December.

This is, first of all, a regulation that is “enhancing solidarity through better coordination of gas purchases, reliable price benchmarks and exchanges of gas across borders”. It includes “temporary emergency measures designed to bring down high energy prices and improve gas supply security”. The Council extends its validity for one more year, until 31 December 2024.

The second resolution defines the basis for accelerating the implementation of renewable energy sources, the aim of which is “to tackle the energy crisis, reduce the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels and further advance the EU’s climate objectives by accelerating the permit-granting process for and the deployment of renewable energy projects”.

This resolution comes into effect on 30 December 2022 for 18 months. The Council agreed to extend the period of application of some resolutions’ amended provisions until 30 June 2025.

The third regulation, dedicated to the “market correction mechanism to protect EU citizens and the economy against excessively high prices establishes a system of temporary measures to prevent spikes of excessively high gas prices in the EU that do not reflect prices on the world market”. This resolution applies from 1 February 2023 for one year. The updated resolution extends it for another year, until 31 January 2025.

Now the resolutions on the extension of the regulations for extraordinary situations have been officially adopted. They will enter into force after its publication in the EU’s Official Journal.

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