Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia have called on the EU to "put words into concrete actions" in order to resolve the dispute over Germany's gas storage levy, according to a note sent for ministerial consideration seen by Argus.
Germany's gas storage fee, levied on all gas exiting the German grid, has "significantly increased costs for gas traders ultimately leading to an increase of gas prices for the consumers", the letter says. This measure has "implications on the energy security of the EU", and was already discussed by ministers at the last Energy Council meeting on 4 March, the letter notes. Energy commissioner Kadri Simson criticised the levy at the time, saying that "unilateral national measures in the form of export restrictions or levies at cross-border exit points put energy solidarity at risk" and jeopardise efforts to end dependence on Russian gas.
During these conversations, it was stressed that "increased transit costs disproportionately affect the central and eastern European (CEE) region", making it more expensive for these countries to import from western Europe. This could "force some member states to rely more heavily on gas imports from Russia, potentially increasing their geopolitical dependencies and undermining efforts to diversify energy sources". When also considering the potential halt of Russian transit through Ukraine at the end of this year, the levy will "significantly reduce the security of supply of the whole CEE region and make it more vulnerable towards price fluctuations", the letter says.
But while the German levy has been "broadly discussed" since 4 March and before, including in direct talks between Germany and the main countries affected, the "unilateral decision" to extend the levy until April 2027 was taken, while the levy will also be increased further to €2.50/MWh from the start of July. This move "further prolongs and deepens negative impacts on market dynamics, and thus, hinders efforts to achieve a more integrated and efficient European gas market", the letter says.
The same countries and Poland in February issued a joint call for the EU to better protect the internal gas market. First vice-president of the European Parliament Othmar Karas, in co-ordination with Austrian energy minister Leonore Gewessler, also asked the European Commission to comment on Germany's gas storage levy in April, while Czech industry and trade minister Jozef Sikela said earlier this month that amendments to the storage levy "can be expected soon" following bilateral discussions with Germany. The commission had broadly agreed that the storage levy was likely to be in violation of EU laws, Sikela previously said.
