The European Union is not adequately prepared for a gas supply crisis, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) warned on Monday.
The ECA, which scrutinizes the value and effectiveness of EU policies, said the EU should improve its system for monitoring the affordability of gas throughout the bloc, streamline the procedures for member states to report the sustainability of their supplies, and improve cooperation between EU countries.
The ECA report takes stock of the supply crisis that followed Russia's full-scale invasion of EU ally Ukraine in February 2022, Before the invasion about 45% of the EU's gas imports came from Russia. Wholesale gas prices reached €339 ($428) per megawatt-hour in August 2022, compared to €51 a year earlier.
While the EU was successful in reducing its dependence on Russian gas and restoring prices to pre-crisis levels by this year, more work needs to be done to prepare for another supply shock in the future, the auditors say.
For example, cooperation among EU countries still falls short. "Many member states are still reluctant to sign bilateral solidarity agreements," an ECA statement said. "Some EU countries would even envisage cutting off their gas supplies to a neighbour in response to an emergency."
"Overall, we found that the EU pre-crisis framework did support gas security of supply, although unequally, but the critical importance of crisis response measures cannot be demonstrated, even though they may have sent signals to help stabilize the market," said auditor João Leão in a press conference.
