EU gas storage facilities already 95% full, exceeding mandatory levels

EU countries have met the deadlines set by the European Commission for filling gas storage facilities in preparation for the winter of 2024-2025 and even exceeded the required figure.

European Commission spokesperson Tim McPhie noted at a briefing that the emergency package introduced in autumn 2022, when Europe faced a gas shortage due to the combined effects of Russia's war against Ukraine, stipulated that member states had to ensure that their gas storage facilities were at least 90% full by 1 November.

"Ahead of this year's deadline, tomorrow, the current gas storage level EU-wide is over 95%, according to the latest figures released by Gas Infrastructure Europe. There is currently around 100bcm of gas in storage in the EU, which represents around one third of the EU's annual gas consumption."

European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson noted that the EU can now be confident in the stability of supply and prices, allowing it to maintain its commitment to refusing the import of fossil fuels from Russia.

Earlier, Simson warned member states against "politically dangerous" agreements with Russian energy giant Gazprom.

The commissioner was likely referring to Hungary, which had reached an agreement with Gazprom to increase gas supplies.