Intergovernmental agreements in the field of energy

The European Commission has proposed a decision which would require Member States to submit draft intergovernmental agreements with non-EU countries in the field of energy to it before they are signed. The Commission would then check whether they are compliant with EU law, and Member States would have to take full account of the Commission's opinion.

At present, Member States are required to submit such agreements to the Commission after signature. The Commission considers the present system as ineffective. Although a third of the IGAs on energy infrastructure have been found to be non-compliant with EU law, none have been renegotiated so far. The Commission says the proposal would lead to greater legal certainty and reduced risks for investors and business partners. It would also lead to increased transparency on energy supply, supporting the aims of Energy Union.

The European Parliament ITRE Committee draft report of 30 May 2016 proposed strengthening the decision to require ex-ante verification also for non-binding instruments. On 6 June 2016, energy ministers in the Council agreed a general approach that would restrict ex-ante verification to agreements related to gas supply only. Three national parliaments have raised subsidiarity concerns, and four submitted comments.

A trilogue agreement reached in December 2016 restricts the scope of the ex-ante assessment to gas and oil contracts, while agreements related to electricity would be subject to an ex-post assessment. If a Member State departs from the opinion in the Commission's ex-ante assessment, it would have to justify its decision in writing.

The agreed text needs now to be approved by Parliament and Counci

Author: Gregor Erbach.

ESO: Background information: Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing an information exchange mechanism with regard to intergovernmental agreements and nonbinding instruments between Member States and third countries in the field of energy and repealing Decision No 994/2012/EU (COM (2016) 53) http://www.europeansources.info/record/proposal-for-a-decision-of-the-european-parliament-and-of-the-council-on-establishing-an-information-exchange-mechanism-with-regard-to-intergovernmental-agreements-and-non-binding-instruments-between/

EP: EPRS: Briefing: Initial Appraisal of a European Commission Impact Assessment, April 2016: Intergovernmental agreements in the field of energy http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2016/581378/EPRS_BRI(2016)581378_EN.pdf

EP: EPRS: Briefing: EU Legislation in Progress: Intergovernmental agreements in the field of energy [March 2016 edition] http://www.europeansources.info/record/intergovernmental-agreements-in-the-field-of-energy/

ESO: Background information: Informal agreement between EU institutions to ensure compliance of Intergovernmental Agreements in the field of energy with EU law http://www.europeansources.info/record/informal-agreement-between-eu-institutions-to-ensure-compliance-of-intergovernmental-agreements-in-the-field-of-energy-with-eu-law/

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