The European Union is expected to agree Friday to strengthen rules on emergency oil stocks and to publish data on commercial stocks every month, in an effort to increase both its readiness for any potential energy crisis and transparency in the commodities market.
While the European Commission still has some reservations, all 27 E.U. countries back the proposal that will be discussed by energy ministers at a meeting in Luxembourg Friday, sources close to the negotiation said.
The new legislation will align E.U. rules on emergency stocks to those of the International Energy Agency.
The commission shall publish "a monthly statistical summary of the commercial stocks," the draft reads.
E.U. countries' emergency oil stocks should equal "at the very least" 90 days of average daily net imports, or 61 days of average daily consumption, whichever is greater, according to the draft document to be discussed Friday.
Governments may create a specific "central stockholding entity" to keep the emergency stocks, or delegate the task to energy companies. Each country has to ensure it has a procedure to promptly release the stocks in case of a "major supply disruption," the draft reads.
The E.U. is heavily dependent on oil and gas imports. Russian cuts in gas supply to Ukraine as recently as January heavily affected the 27-country bloc and made the need for emergency procedures more urgent. Russia recently warned the E.U. its future supply reliability is dependent on the ability of Ukrainian state gas company Naftogaz to pay for its gas.