Eurogas Appeals to Barnier over Brexit
Eurogas, the industry body representing gas wholesalers in Europe, has called for gas as well as electricity to be included in a political declaration on Brexit.
It published October 15 a letter to the European Union’s chief negotiator on Brexit, Michel Barnier, by the Eurogas secretary general Beate Raabe, identifying “areas of concern that will need to be addressed in a future relationship to minimise disruption to gas markets” once the UK, a producer and net importer of gas, is no longer in the EU.
Dialogue should be kept open to seek to maintain co-operation among the 27 EU-based national energy regulators, the various transmission system operators, and the UK, urges Eurogas, while the status of gas interconnectors linking Britain to the EU should be clarified as soon as possible to avoid disruption. It also calls for the UK to remain involved in the EU’s Gas Coordination Group, the group of top officials that manages security of supply issues during emergencies and disruptions.
A briefing note to industry was issued by the UK government October 12, highlighting similar issues, were the UK to crash out of the EU on March 29 2019 without an agreed deal.
The Eurogas letter also calls for an agreed robust and clear dispute resolution mechanism. Hardline pro-Brexit supporters however will not want the latter subject in any way to the European Court of Justice.
The letter to Barnier – which can be read here – concludes: “Eurogas considers that the UK’s alignment with the [EU] Internal Market would be the most logical choice to minimise any disruption in the future that could have market-wide implications,” including on carbon pricing and markets.
While many parliamentarians want the UK to remain in the EU single market, a substantial and highly vocal pro-Brexit group in the prime minister Theresa May’s party is implacably opposed to it.
Raabe is stepping down as Eurogas secretary general in January 2019 and will be succeeded by James Watson, a Briton who currently heads a solar power association.