17 Member States highlight the urgent need to address legal uncertainty and safeguard EU energy security during the June Energy Council

FuelsEurope underscores the significance of the long-overdue message delivered by 17 Member States at today’s Energy Council, highlighting the serious risks that the current implementation of the EU Methane Emission Regulation (EUMR) poses to Europe’s energy security.

The Council discussion and the non-paper co‑signed or supported by a majority of those Member States clearly underline that security of supply, market stability and legal certainty have become critical concerns at EU level. Member States emphasised that, in a context of geopolitical instability and tightening global oil and gas markets, premature enforcement of import obligations risks reducing access to diversified supply sources, increasing prices and weakening Europe’s industrial competitiveness.

FuelsEurope and its members fully support the objective of the Regulation to reduce methane emissions globally. However, FuelsEurope also shares Member States’ concerns that the Commission’s draft Recommendation on penalties fails to address the core issue: persistent legal uncertainty for both Member States and industry. As a non-binding instrument, the Recommendation neither suspends underlying obligations nor prevents divergent national enforcement, leaving companies exposed to potential non-compliance findings, litigation and significant commercial risk.

FuelsEurope takes note of Commissioner Jørgensen’s statement that the Commission is focused on implementing the EUMR while safeguarding security of supply, that the Regulation is sufficiently flexible and that further guidance will clarify compliance expectations.

However, the Council discussion demonstrates that this approach does not adequately reflect the operational and legal realities identified by Member States and industry:

• Flexibility in the absence of a comprehensive implementing framework does not provide legal certainty for long-term supply contracts.
• Additional guidance cannot substitute for missing methodologies and verification systems necessary for compliance.
• The Commissioner’s call for Member States to rapidly adopt penalty regimes risk increasing fragmentation and uncertainty, rather than resolving it.

Most importantly, the Commission’s Recommendations do not address the fundamental issue: in the absence of an operational framework necessary for meeting the obligations, companies are unable to comply with the regulatory requirements.

FuelsEurope therefore calls on the European Commission and Member States to act decisively and in line with the concerns expressed at the Energy Council:

• Introduce targeted amendments to postpone non-feasible Chapter V obligations, ensuring an effective and legally robust implementation;
• Establish a complete and operational compliance framework (methodologies, verification systems, certification schemes) before enforcement;

Today’s Energy Council sends a clear message: the EU must urgently deliver clarity and predictability in the implementation of the EUMR, ensuring that the Regulation achieves its environmental objectives without undermining Europe’s energy security, market stability and industrial base.