EU countries will purchase natural gas jointly
European countries have started preparations for the joint purchase of natural gas for the coming winter. Thus, the first purchases could be agreed by the summer, European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič said on Monday. According to him, this decision will help EU member states fill their gas storages and avoid a supply crisis next winter.
The representatives of the member countries of the European Union had a meeting to coordinate the joint purchases of natural gas. At the end of the first meeting, European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič said he urged member states to quickly engage with suppliers in their markets to estimate the quantities of natural gas they will jointly purchase.
The European official also said he had asked the industry to confirm whether they were interested in joining the EU's joint gas procurement scheme. The EU executive claims that these steps will help the European Union to replenish its empty warehouses and to negotiate lower prices with suppliers thanks to the use of collective purchasing power.
However, some EU officials say some big energy firms have expressed reluctance to participate in joint gas purchases because they can already negotiate their own deals with suppliers and doubt the EU scheme will allow them to get lower prices. We remind you that at the beginning of this year, Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița declared that the Republic of Moldova is interested in procuring natural gas on the Joint Procurement Platform with the European Union. According to her, access to the Platform will allow our country to strengthen its process of ensuring energy security, "affected by the blackmail of the Russian Federation".
