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EU-wide/Brussels – Austria, along with Hungary, Czechia and Slovakia, is increasing pressure on Germany in the dispute over the German gas storage levy. With regard to possible infringement proceedings against the country, the EU Commission must move from words to action, the four states write in a paper they want to present at the EU Energy Council on Thursday. After the levy is to be raised on July 1, the issue becomes even more urgent.
The German gas storage levy will rise from the current 1.86 euros to 2.50 euros net per megawatt hour as of July, it was recently announced. The levy is added to the gas price and, according to Germany, serves to ensure minimum filling levels in domestic gas storage facilities. The levy was introduced in 2022 due to the Russian attack on Ukraine and its impact on the energy market.
However, the levy makes exports of non-Russian gas to Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries more expensive, thus potentially increasing these countries’ dependence on Russia, Austria, Hungary, Czechia and Slovakia criticize in the joint paper available to APA: “Together with the planned end of the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine by the end of this year, the levy will significantly reduce the security of supply in the entire CEE region and make it more susceptible to price fluctuations.”
EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson had already admitted at the beginning of March, following the latest EU energy ministers’ meeting, that the German measure could jeopardize the broader diversification of European gas imports. The Commission, according to its own statements, is in contact with the German authorities on this matter and has already initiated a so-called pilot procedure against Germany. However, the Brussels authority has so far refrained from formal infringement proceedings. (29.05.2024)