The European Commission has confirmed the members of the EU Energy Platform Industry Advisory Group (IAG). As one of the key motors for the platform, this informal expert group will assist the Commission with the necessary industrial perspective to meet the objectives of the EU Energy Platform and address current energy challenges.
The EU Energy Platform was established on 7 April 2022 to secure the EU’s energy supply at affordable prices in the current geopolitical context and to phase out dependency on Russian gas. The platform is a voluntary coordination mechanism supporting the purchase of gas and hydrogen for the EU.
The newly-established Industry Advisory Group will provide feedback on the options for demand aggregation and joint gas purchasing, as well as insights on how to ensure that the EU’s goals on reducing its dependency on Russian gas supplies will be achieved in line with the REPowerEU Plan. The group will also support with information on potential international outreach activities.
So far, the EU Energy Platform has been working through regional task forces. The South-East Europe regional task force that foresees joint efforts of the region and the European Commission on 3 pillars: gas demand needs of the region, including demand reduction potential via electricity; infrastructure opportunities and addressing outstanding issues; and gas supply options.
Additionally, the Central-Eastern regional task force was initiated in June 2022 at a ministerial meeting in Prague in coordination with the concerned EU countries and neighbouring Energy Community Contracting Parties, including Ukraine and Moldova. Other regional task forces including North-West, South-West and the Baltics will follow.