CEE countries ask EU to protect internal gas market

Five central and eastern European countries have issued a joint call for the EU to better protect the internal gas market, as storage levies in neighbouring countries could distort regional trade.

The Czech industry and trade ministry is leading the initiative, in which Hungary, Austria, Poland and Slovakia are all taking part.

The European gas market is "threatened by the introduction of new charges" for transporting gas across borders, which could "distort its functioning, create barriers to trade and hinder cross-border co-operation", the Czech ministry said.

The five countries on 20 February asked the Belgian presidency of the EU to place the subject on the agenda of the 4 March energy ministers' meeting so that the issue can be discussed on an EU-wide basis.

Europe has done a "tremendous job" in getting rid of its dependence on Russian gas supply, and it should "avoid taking steps that will undermine the work we have done, [and] damage our unity", Czech industry and trade minister Jozef Sikela said. The main target of criticism is the German storage levy, charged on all gas exiting the German grid and currently set at €1.86/MWh for the first half of this year. The levy creates barriers to the free trade of gas between EU countries, creating an "uneven playing field for national economies, increased energy costs for households and reduced cross-border cooperation", the minister said.

The Italian regulator recently proposed a similar measure and "other countries" are also considering such levies, "suggesting a possible negative trend towards the extension of such charges across Europe", Sikela said.

Levies "undermine efforts to diversify gas sources and favour gas supplies from Russia, which is contrary to the EU's geopolitical and energy security objectives", the minister said.

These five countries call for "better protection" of the European gas market and the need for a "co-ordinated European solution".

Energy Traders Deutschland expects German levy to rise further

The storage levy has led to higher costs within Germany as well, the head of the gas taskforce of Energy Traders Deutschland Joachim Rahls emphasised on the sidelines of the E-World conference in Essen this week.

Even within Germany, lower cross-border flows as a result of the levy are raising transport tariffs, as the same costs have to be distributed across less booked capacity, Rahls said, adding a higher storage levy would exacerbate the problems. Rahls "firmly expects" the storage levy to rise further in the next six-month period as current cross-border flows and revenues remain below the ones projected in the most recent setting of the levy.

By Brendan A'Hearn and Till Stehr