Romania’s EU Council Presidency gets Agreement for Natural Gas Directive

Romania’s EU Council Presidency has obtained approval of EU Member States for Natural Gas Directive and next step is vote in the European Parliament, said Romanian Ministry of Energy Anton Anton.

"I am very pleased we've reached this agreement so quickly. Agreement eliminates a gap within EU's legislative framework in the energy field and it guarantees a coherent implementation of the Energy Union norms in the entire EU. By reaching the two consecutive political agreements we got closer to the moment of adoption of the Gas Directive and to closure of this file under the Romanian EU Presidency", Minister of Energy stated.

Revision of Directive on Natural Gas is very important for strengthening energy security in the European Union. Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU had a crucial role in these negotiations, guaranteeing that EU Energy rules will apply including to the gas pipelines to and from third countries, explained representatives of Romanian Ministry of Energy.

This file has been subject to negotiations at European level for more than a year. Revision of Directive was proposed by European Commission in November 2017, but European Parliament has only made his standpoint known in April 2018. Council of EU, under Romania’s EU Presidency, reached a consensus on February 8, 2019.

According to same source, revision of Directive on Natural Gas will increase transparency and provide legal certainty for both investors in the gas infrastructure and network users.

Source:RRA,Romania2019.eu.Translated by Miruna Matei