The European Commission will table proposals on Wednesday (23 March) obliging EU countries to fill up their gas stores at least 90% before the next winter season and introduce a new certification scheme to prevent manipulation of gas storage by foreign operators, according to Euractiv.

The proposal will be tabled before a two-day EU summit this week (24-25 March), where EU leaders will debate energy security amid gas supply tensions caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“The current geopolitical situation requires additional short term measures to deal with the market imbalances for energy and for securing supplies in the years ahead,” says the draft regulation on security of supply (SoS regulation), which was last amended in 2017.

“The proposed 90% filling rate is a necessary and appropriate level in order to ensure security of supply over the winter in case of serious supply disruptions,” the draft regulation says.

In addition, the European Commission proposes to introduce a certification scheme for gas storage operators which excludes any person or entity that may put the EU’s energy security at risk.

According to this proposed new rule, national regulators “shall refuse the certification if it is demonstrated that a person which directly or indirectly controls or exercises any right over the storage system operator…may put at risk the security of energy supply or the essential security interests of any member state or the Union.” Storage supplies 25-30% of gas consumed in winter and provides a buffer in case of supply disruptions, the Commission notes.