Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1486 of 22 July 2025 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2024/1789 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the temporary exclusion of offers of hydrogen supplies originating in the Russian Federation or Belarus from being collected through the mechanism to support the market development of hydrogen
Date: 2025-07-22
Institutions: Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission
Subjects: Belarus, EU energy policy, Russia, energy market, hydrogen, hydrogen production, import (EU), import restriction, security of supply, self-sufficiency in energy








L_202501486EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
L series













2025/1486


23.7.2025







            COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2025/1486
of 22 July 2025
         
laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2024/1789 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the temporary exclusion of offers of hydrogen supplies originating in the Russian Federation or Belarus from being collected through the mechanism to support the market development of hydrogen


THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,


Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2024/1789 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 on the internal markets for renewable gas, natural gas and hydrogen, amending Regulations (EU) No 1227/2011, (EU) 2017/1938, (EU) 2019/942 and (EU) 2022/869 and Decision (EU) 2017/684 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 (1), and in particular Article 54(1) thereof,

Whereas:







(1)


The Commission established the Hydrogen Mechanism (‘the mechanism’) to support the market development of hydrogen referred to in Article 52 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1789 which is to be implemented under the activities of the European Hydrogen Bank (2). The mechanism was launched in July 2025. The mechanism aims to increase the transparency of hydrogen demand, supply, flows and prices and play a coordination role, connecting, processing, and giving access to information on demand and supply for renewable and low-carbon hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives submitted by off-takers established in the Union and in the Energy Community Contracting Parties and both domestic and international suppliers. The Hydrogen mechanism will be implemented and will operate in accordance with the EU competition rules, in particular Articles 101 and 102 TFEU.












(2)


Hydrogen supply refer to the sale, including resale, of hydrogen, including in the form of liquid organic hydrogen carriers or liquid hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives including ammonia or methanol to customers (3).












(3)


Russia and Belarus produce significant volumes of fossil fuel-based hydrogen and derivatives (such as ammonia). Also, there is potential for substantial sales and supplies of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives production originating from Russia and Belarus. It is not excluded that some of those hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives volumes would be exported, also to the Union.












(4)


Experience with energy supplies from Russia and Belarus has shown that Russia exploited the Union’s dependence on its energy exports to the Union as a means of exerting coercion and manipulations (4). Russia has systematically abused dependencies to the detriment of the Union’s economy and economic security and used energy supply relationships with partners in the Union to manipulate markets and to weaken the Union’s security of supply (5).












(5)


There is a risk that Russia and Belarus would try to establish similar business relationships and dependencies with regard to exports of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives to the Union which could be used to manipulate markets.












(6)


Allowing supplies originating in Russia or Belarus to be offered through the mechanism could permit Russia and Belarus to gain a significant foothold in the Union market, thereby facilitating attempts to manipulate the nascent hydrogen market.












(7)


As hydrogen is often used by large industrial customers, and as the hydrogen market is much less liquid than the market for natural gas, establishing new supply dependencies with Russia or Belarus could enable those countries to continue their strategy towards the Union to endanger security of supply by manipulating markets, by interrupting supplies, or by using other form of weaponisation of energy supplies.












(8)


Although these risks are present even in the case of smaller shares in the overall volumes, collecting Russian and Belarusian hydrogen supply offers via the mechanism to support the market development of hydrogen could significantly increase the role and visibility of Russia and Belarus on the Union hydrogen market. This would run counter the Union’s efforts to phase out its dependency on Russian energy imports (6) and avoid new dependencies on energy supplies from those countries (7).












(9)


In view of that geopolitical situation and taking account of the risks resulting from energy deliveries from Russia and Belarus, it is necessary to temporarily exclude offers of hydrogen supplies originating in Russia or Belarus from being collected through the mechanism in order to protect the Union’s essential security interests and security of supply. Pursuant to Article 54(2) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1789, the decision shall be valid for a period of up to one year and may be renewed if justified.












(10)


The temporary exclusion will not unduly disrupt the proper functioning of the internal market for hydrogen and will not undermine the security of supply of the Union or of a Member State, notably because the Union hydrogen market is still nascent with very limited supplies from Russia and Belarus. Furthermore, the temporary exclusion respects the principle of energy solidarity (8), because it is taken in the interest of the Union with regard to the mechanism, without undue impacts on the rights of Member States or their economic operators to trade hydrogen, including renewable and low-carbon, and its derivatives with third countries outside the voluntary mechanism. Moreover, this Decision is taken in accordance with the rights and obligations of the Union or of the Member States with respect to third countries.












(11)


In accordance with Article 54(2) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1789, the Commission has duly informed the European Parliament and the Council about its assessment, and may propose to renew the decision, if justified, also with a view to aligning the measure with other EU policies, such as the RePowerEU Roadmap (9), which aims to further advance the EU’s independence from Russian energy by measures to support the phase out of imports of gas, nuclear, and oil to reduce risks of weaponisation of energy supplies,





HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:



Article 1
Offers of hydrogen supplies originating in the Russian Federation or Belarus shall be excluded from being collected through the Hydrogen Mechanism to support the market development of hydrogen for a period of one year.


Article 2
This Decision shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.




Done at Brussels, 22 July 2025.


For the Commission


The President

Ursula VON DER LEYEN
            





(1)  
            OJ L, 2024/1789, 15.7.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1789/oj.

(2)  Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the European Hydrogen Bank, COM(2023) 156 final, 16.3.2023.

(3)  Article 2 point (28) of Directive (EU) 2024/1788 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 on common rules for the internal markets for renewable gas, natural gas and hydrogen, amending Directive (EU) 2023/1791 and repealing Directive 2009/73/EC (OJ L, 2024/1788, 15.7.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/1788/oj).

(4)  Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on phasing out Russian natural gas imports, improving monitoring of potential energy dependencies and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/1938, COM(2025) 828 final, 17.6.2025.

(5)  Please see in detail a history of threatening the Union’s security of supply by Russia in the Commission Staff Working Document ‘Assessing the impact of measures to phase out Russian gas imports and improve monitoring of potential energy dependencies and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/1938’ of 17 June 2025, SWD(2025) 830 final, pages 1 to 15.

(6)  Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, REPowerEU Plan, COM(2022) 230 final, 18.5.2022.

(7)  Recital 71 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1789.

(8)  Judgment of 15 July 2021, Germany v Poland, C-848/19 P, ECLI:EU:C:2021:598, paragraph 71 (‘The principle of energy solidarity entails a general obligation, for the European Union and the Member States, in the exercise of their respective competences in respect of EU energy policy, to take into account the interests of all stakeholders liable to be affected, by avoiding the adoption of measures that might affect their interests, as regards security of supply, its economic and political viability and the diversification of sources of supply, and to do so in order to take account of their interdependence and de facto solidarity.’)

(9)  Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Roadmap towards ending Russian energy supplies, COM (2025) 440 final, 6.5.2025.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2025/1486/oj
ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)