Contracting Parties improve technical, operational and communication standards to facilitate cross-border gas flows

The Secretariat published today an update of its 2019 report analysing the state of implementation of Regulation (EU) 2015/703 establishing a network code on interoperability and data exchange in the Energy Community Contracting Parties. Compliance in practice has improved. The number of concluded Interconnection Agreements as required by the Regulation significantly increased since the 2019 report. All three of the new agreements were concluded between Ukraine and EU Member States and reach a high level of compliance with the Regulation, especially with respect to measurement principles and data exchange rules.  

North Macedonia, Moldova and, partially, Ukraine have now transposed the interoperability network code into national legislation. With the exception of Albania which transposed the Regulation in 2018, the other five Contracting Parties are yet to do so.

The concerns underlined by the Secretariat in its previous report with respect to the legal shortcoming consisting of a lack of binding applicability of Regulation (EU) 2015/703 on interconnection points between Contracting Parties and EU Member States remain valid, especially due to pending issues at certain country borders. The Secretariat also underlined the need for Contracting Parties’ regulators to take responsibility over supervising the implementation of the interoperability network code.

The network code sets rules on interoperability and data exchange as well as harmonized provisions for the operation of gas transmission systems with the aim of facilitating gas trade and cross-border gas transmission flows. This calls for harmonisation of the rules defined in bilateral Interconnection Agreements between transmission system operators.