European Commission launches new round of joint gas purchases for EU countries

The European Commission (EC) has launched another round of joint gas purchases. It has invited buyers to signal their interest in participating in the tender. This month, they will be able to submit gas demand for multiple six-month periods from July 2025 to October 2030, the Commission said today. The aim of joint purchases is to make it easier for Europe to switch from Russian gas to gas from other suppliers.

„The Commission is launching today the second round of medium-term matching to coordinate gas purchases under the AggregateEU platform,“ the EU executive said in a statement.

„To participate in the medium-term tender, demand must be submitted by 17 March. From 18 to 21 March, a tender will be launched to invite expressions of interest from potential suppliers,“ it added.

Once demand and supply have been matched through the platform, the individual companies negotiate contracts bilaterally. Buyers from the EU and the Energy Community can submit and then aggregate demand. The Energy Community is an international organisation that includes EU member states and several non-member countries.

The European Union launched a joint platform for gas purchases in 2023 in an effort to negotiate better contracts. Gas prices in Europe rose sharply in the summer of 2022, following market disruptions after Russian troops invaded Ukraine in February that year. Until then, Russia had been a key gas supplier to the EU.