Brussels, 10 May 2023
Good morning,
I am glad to inform you that today, the Commission has launched the first international tender for joint gas purchasing, under the EU Energy Platform.
This is a historic milestone – because for the first time ever, we are leveraging the EU’s collective economic weight to increase our energy security and tackle high gas prices.
The response of the market has been positive and encouraging.
Some 107 companies have so far subscribed to participate in joint gas purchasing via the recently created AggregateEU mechanism. And more companies are in the process of doing so.
For the first tender launched today, 77 European companies have submitted requests for a total volume of some 11.6 billion cubic metres of gas.
LNG demand represents approximately 2.8 bcm, while almost 9.6 bcm is requested for delivery via pipeline.
Now, I invite all reliable international suppliers to participate and submit their bids to serve these European customers.
This first tendering round is open until the 15th of May, and it covers gas deliveries from June 2023 until May 2024.
AggregateEU is a new marketplace to trade gas in Europe, strengthening our energy security.
It is clearly a win-win for European customers and for international suppliers.
On one hand, AggregateEU will help European industry, including energy intensive companies, to create new commercial relations with alternative gas suppliers – in the context of the EU’s efforts to phase out Russian gas.
At the same time, it opens an opportunity for international gas suppliers to expand their customers’ base.
To conclude, let me underline that this is a result of intensive work that started in December, following the adoption of the solidarity regulation. Therefore, I want to appreciate the collaboration with the Member States as well as the industry.
So, we are delivering, in record time, what has been promised on our side – the Commission has built this marketplace from scratch, companies and Member States have responded positively, and now we are putting our offer to the international market.
Thank you.