The European Commission will recommend that member states postpone penalties for energy importers who fail to comply with EU methane regulations by three years. The move aims to avoid disruptions in liquefied natural gas supplies to Europe and a spike in prices, which could undermine the bloc’s efforts to diversify away from Russian energy.
According to Bloomberg, the commission had resisted pressure from the United States, the oil and gas industry, and more than half of EU member states to revise the methane rules. That pressure has finally brought results. Next week, Brussels will advise that fines should not be imposed between 2027 and 2029, except for cases of large-scale fraud.
The regulation, already adopted, requires fossil fuel importers to monitor, report and verify methane emissions from 2027, with penalties up to 20 percent of annual turnover coming into force by 2030. The United States, now Europe’s largest LNG supplier, warned it could redirect shipments elsewhere if the EU did not soften the requirements.
Pressure from Washington and the industry
The dispute escalated after major gas producers – including the U.S., Qatar and others – warned that the rules could threaten energy deliveries. – We will have no choice but to send our LNG to other markets if the EU insists on standards that are impossible to meet – said an official from the U.S. Department of Energy. The warning came as the EU seeks to lower persistently high energy costs and end its reliance on Russian imports amid the conflict in the Middle East.
The commission’s recommendation is seen as a temporary relief for importers, but industry representatives argue it does not address the core problem. The main bottleneck is the lack of accredited verification protocols and too few verification bodies to certify compliance before the 2027 deadline.
Insufficient relief, experts warn
– The suspension of fines is a positive signal, but it does not solve the fundamental issue of verifiability – said an energy analyst at a Brussels-based think tank. – Importers risk falling out of compliance even if they act in good faith, simply because the verification infrastructure is not ready. The commission’s plan only delays the reckoning by three years.
Under the current timeline, from 2030 imports that exceed a methane intensity threshold would face automatic penalties. Without a functioning verification system, many LNG cargoes could be deemed non-compliant, potentially stopping them from entering the EU market altogether.
What lies ahead for the eu’s energy security
The debate unfolds as the EU tries to balance climate ambitions with security of supply and affordability. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Europe has heavily invested in LNG terminals and long-term contracts with producers like the U.S., Qatar and Nigeria. Any disruption to those flows would force the bloc back into expensive spot markets or, worse, towards Russian gas.
Member states are divided. Some, particularly in central and eastern Europe, fear that strict methane rules will raise energy costs for households and industry. Others, led by France and the Netherlands, insist on maintaining the original timeline and penalties. The commission’s recommendation is a compromise that buys time, but the underlying tensions remain unresolved.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. Shutterstock
