2006/791/EC: Commission Decision of 7 November 2006 establishing the composition of the Gas Coordination Group   (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2006-11-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: natural gas, security of supply

18.11.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 319/49

COMMISSION DECISION

of 7 November 2006

establishing the composition of the Gas Coordination Group

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2006/791/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

— the household sector

representing 39 % of

total

European gas consumption.

Having regard to Council Directive 2004/67/EC of 26 April
2004 concerning measures to safeguard security of natural
gas supply (1), and in particular Article 7(2) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Article 7(1) of Directive 2004/67/EC has established a
Gas Coordination Group in order to facilitate the coor-
dination of security of supply measure. This Group shall
be composed of the representatives of Member States and
representative bodies of the industry concerned and of
relevant consumers.

It is necessary to establish the detailed composition of
the Gas Coordination Group.

In the light of the provisions of Directive 2003/55/EC of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June
2003 concerning common rules for the internal market
in gas and repealing Directive 98/30/EC (2), the following
bodies of the industry concerned should be considered to
be representative:

— the representative European association of the large
network operators,
transmission system
i.e.
operators in the sense of Article 2(4) of Directive
2003/55/EC,

the

— the representative European association of

the gas

supplying industry,

— the

international

association

representing

gas

producers in Europe.

for

As
consuming natural gas should be distinguished:

the relevant consumers,

three main sectors

(5)

(6)

(7)

Representatives of the bodies representing these sectors
should therefore also participate in the meetings of the
Gas Coordination Group.

information by participants of
Rules on disclosure of
the group should be provided for, without prejudice to
the Commission’s
in
the Annex to Commission Decision 2001/844/EC,
ECSC, Euratom (3).

rules on security as

set out

of

supply measures

security
in the event of a major

The Gas Coordination Group should help to facilitate
at
of
coordination
Community level
supply
disruption and may also examine and, where appropriate,
assist the Member States in coordinating the measures
level to deal with the major supply
taken at national
it should exchange information
disruption. In addition,
on security of gas supply on a regular basis, and should
consider aspects relevant in the context of a major supply
disruption,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Composition of the Gas Coordination Group

Each Member State may nominate not more than two

1.
representatives from its competent authorities.

2.

The representative bodies of the industry concerned are:

— Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE),

— the industrial

sector

representing 35 % of

total

European gas consumption,

— Eurogas,

— the power sector using gas as a fuel and accounting
for 22 % of total European gas consumption, and

— the International Association of the Oil and Gas Producers

(OGP).

(1) OJ L 127, 29.4.2004, p. 92.
(2) OJ L 176, 15.7.2003, p. 57.

(3) OJ L 317, 3.12.2001, p. 1. Decision as last amended by Decision

2006/548/EC, Euratom (OJ L 215, 5.8.2006, p. 38).

L 319/50

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

18.11.2006

Each of these organizations shall nominate not more than two
representatives for participation in the meetings of the Group.

agenda to participate in the Gas Coordination Group’s or sub-
group’s deliberations if this is useful and/or necessary.

4.
Information obtained by participating in the deliberations
of a group or sub-group shall not be divulged if, in the opinion
of the Commission or any other member of the Gas Coordi-
nation Group, that information relates to confidential matters.

5.
The Gas Coordination Group and its sub-groups shall
normally meet on Commission premises in accordance with
the procedures and schedule established by it. The Commission
shall provide secretarial services. Other Commission officials
with an interest in the proceedings may attend meetings of
the group and its sub-groups.

The Gas Coordination Group shall adopt

its rules of
the standard rules of procedure

6.
procedure on the basis of
adopted by the Commission.

this Article,
the
7. Without prejudice to paragraph 4 of
Commission may publish on the Internet,
in the original
language of the document concerned, any summary, conclusion,
or partial conclusion or working document of the Gas Coordi-
nation Group on the website of
the relevant Commission
service.

Article 4

Meeting expenses

The Commission shall reimburse travel and, where appropriate,
subsistence expenses for participants of the Gas Coordination
Group meetings, experts and observers in connection with the
Gas Coordination Group’s activities in accordance with the
Commission’s rules on the compensation of external experts.

The participants of
experts and observers
services they render.

the Gas Coordination Group meetings,
the
shall not be remunerated for

Meeting expenses are reimbursed within the limits of the annual
budget allocated to the Gas Coordination Group by the
responsible Commission services.

Done at Brussels, 7 November 2006.

For the Commission

Andris PIEBALGS
Member of the Commission

3.

The representative bodies of relevant consumers are:

— the International Federation of Industrial Energy Consumers

(IFIEC Europe),

— Eurelectric,

— Bureau Européen des Unions de Consommateurs (BEUC).

Each of these organizations shall nominate not more than two
representatives for participation in the meetings of the Group.

Participants of the Gas Coordination Group meetings shall

4.
be nominated for each meeting.

5.
The names of members shall be collected, processed and
published in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of
the European Parliament and of the Council (1).

Article 2

Tasks of the Gas Coordination Group

The tasks of the Gas Coordination Group shall be:

(a)

to facilitate coordination of security of supply measures at
Community level, including in the event of a major supply
disruption;

(b) to examine, and, where appropriate, assist

the Member
States in coordinating the measures taken at national level
to deal with a major supply disruption.

Article 3

Operation

The Gas Coordination Group shall be chaired by the

1.
Commission.

2.
In agreement with the Commission, sub-groups may be
set up to examine specific questions under terms of reference
established by the group. Such groups shall be dissolved as soon
as their mandates are fulfilled.

The Commission’s

representative may ask experts or
3.
observers with specific competence on a subject on the

(1) OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.