Since the conflict in Ukraine erupted and Russia began to weaponize its energy resources, the situation in the European energy market has worsened considerably. So, EU members had to unite to cope with a gas supply crisis ahead of the winter season. Against this backdrop, the European Commission (EC) has come up with a legislative initiative that promotes gas solidarity among EU members. This suggests that any EU country facing a fuel shortage can request additional gas supplies from its neighbors. To make it work, member states need to establish bilateral agreements between them. However, most of the EU countries have no such agreement in place. Therefore, the EC proposed to set some common rules so that member states facing a severe shortage of energy can receive gas from others in exchange for fair compensation. In addition to this, Brussels intends to introduce a price cap to contain excessive volatility at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF), Europe's leading trading hub. “The proposed cap will act as a ceiling and effectively limit the maximum gas price at which the TTF is allowed to trade,” officials explained. They also added that “joint procurement could help bridge the gap and ensure all countries, regardless of their purchasing power, have access to gas supplies at affordable – or at least tolerable – prices.”
