Von der Leyen proposes EU-wide strategic gas reserves as storage hits record lows

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has invited European leaders to consider creating bloc-wide strategic gas reserves, three diplomats and two EU officials told Politico, as the Commission confronts storage levels it describes as record lows.

Existing European gas storage facilities, normally refilled throughout the year by commercial operators, ran down over summer on high prices linked to the Middle East conflict. The bloc entered the heating season at between 70 and 75 percent capacity — an all-time low for this point in the calendar and well short of the Commission's own requirement that storage reach 90 percent between 1 October and 1 December. A 10 percent margin of flexibility is permitted under current rules, but even that buffer leaves the EU exposed.

Diplomatic officials told Politico they were not yet clear what form the reserve mechanism would take. To meet the filling target for the 2026-2027 autumn-winter season, net injections into European storage must total at least 68 bcm. Anticipating a very mild winter, the European Commission is prepared to lower the storage threshold to 80 percent for the current year.