MEPs and the Polish Presidency of the Council reached an informal agreement on Tuesday to extend the EU’s 2022 gas storage scheme until 31 December 2027, as it would otherwise have expired at the end of 2025. The provision is designed to ensure gas supply security ahead of the winter season.

MEPs and Council also introduced several amendments to ease tensions in the gas market, as speculation surrounding the existing mandatory 90% fill rate target by 1 November each year was driving the cost of refilling during the summer.

Refilling flexibilities

The agreed text will allow Member States to achieve the 90% filling target at any point in time between 1 October and 1 December, taking into account the start of the Member States withdrawal period. Once the 90% target is met, it should not be required to maintain that level until 1 December.

Member States should have the possibility to deviate by up to ten percentage points from the filling target in case of difficult market…