Communication on an EU strategy for liquefied natural gas and gas storage

The European Commission's "Framework Strategy for a Resilient Energy Union with a Forward-Looking Climate Change Policy" gives concrete expression to the EU's ambition to bring about a transition to a sustainable, secure and competitive energy system. Energy efficiency "as an energy source in its own right" and the development of low carbon sources such as renewables are paramount in this context.

As stressed in the State of the Energy Union, the geopolitical challenges linked to ensuring secure and resilient supplies of fossil fuels also remain significant, particularly as regards commodities for which the EU is highly dependent on imports. In this context the further diversification of the EU's natural gas supply remains a key objective, particularly as domestic production in the EU will continue to decline in coming decades.

Vulnerability due to increasing import dependency can also be mitigated if the gas system remains flexible and able to respond to fluctuations in supply. The present strategy aims to exploit the potential of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and gas storage to make the EU gas system more diverse and flexible, thus contributing to the key Energy Union objective of a secure, resilient and competitive gas supply.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Towards Energy Union: The Commission presents sustainable energy security package http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-towards-energy-union-the-commission-presents-sustainable-energy-security-package/

EUR-Lex: SWD(2016)23: Commission Staff Working Document accompanying the communication http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2016:023:FIN

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