European Commission continues talks with Germany over criticised gas transit fee

The European Commission (EC) is continuing talks with Germany over a fee the country charges for the transit of natural gas across its territory. Reuters reported this today, citing a statement from the Commission. The fee has been criticised by some European Union member states, which say it undermines their efforts to end their dependence on Russian gas. The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria and Hungary are trying to persuade the Commission to take action against the fee.

The fee, intended to cover the costs of storing gas in storage facilities, was introduced by Germany during the recent energy crisis linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Reuters sources said in April that the EC was preparing to take legal action against Germany over the fee. The EC’s press spokesperson did not comment today on possible legal action, but said talks with Germany were continuing.

„The Commission is persuading Germany to propose a solution that would remove these barriers and not prevent member states from trying to move away from Russian gas,“ he added.

Germany’s Ministry of Economic Affairs says the fee is not discriminatory and that other EU member states benefit from Germany filling its gas storage facilities quickly. However, EC Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said in March that the fee threatens solidarity within the EU and undermines efforts to reduce dependence on Russian gas.

Czech Industry Minister Jozef Síkela announced in early March that the European Commission would consider Prague’s request to abolish the fee. According to Síkela, introducing unilateral fees for gas transit is not in keeping with solidarity agreements, which state that energy security is a shared EU interest and that individual countries should bear its costs on their own territory.