Commission Decision of 13 January 2023 establishing the ad hoc Steering Board to facilitate the coordination of demand aggregation and joint purchasing of gas 2023/C 48/05

The ad hoc Steering Board is established.

1 The ad hoc Steering Board shall be consulted by the Commission on draft recommendation(s) pursuant to Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2576: (1) on whether further coordination with regards to the launch of a tender for the purchase of gas or planned gas purchases could improve the functioning of joint purchasing; (2) on whether the launch of a tender for the purchase of gas or planned gas purchases may have a negative impact on the internal market, on security of supply or on energy solidarity;

2 The ad hoc Steering Board shall act as an entity for enhanced coordination at Union level, with the aim of facilitating demand aggregation and joint gas purchasing, including from third countries;

3 Where appropriate, the Commission shall inform the ad hoc Steering Board about the activities of the Energy Platform;

4 The Commission shall inform the ad hoc Steering Board about the impact of the participation of undertakings in the joint purchasing platform on security of supply in the Union and energy solidarity.

1 Members of the ad hoc Steering Board shall be Member States’ authorities.

2 Each Member State’s authority shall nominate its representative and shall be responsible for ensuring that its representative provides a high level of expertise related to energy matters, particularly gas.

3 Each representative may be supported by a technical expert.

The ad hoc Steering Board shall be chaired by the Vice President of the European Commission in charge of Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight.

1 The ad hoc Steering Board shall act at the request of its Chair.

2 Meetings of the ad hoc Steering Board shall, usually, be held on Commission premises but may be held virtually, depending on the circumstances.

3 The Commission Directorate-General for Energy shall provide secretarial services for the ad hoc Steering Board. Commission officials from other departments with an interest in the proceedings may attend meetings of the group and its sub-groups.

4 The ad hoc Steering Board may, by simple majority of its members, decide that deliberations shall be public.

5 Minutes on the discussion on each point on the agenda and on the assessments delivered by the ad hoc Steering Board shall be meaningful and complete. Minutes shall be drafted by the secretariat under the responsibility of the Chair.

6 As far as possible, the ad hoc Steering Board shall adopt its assessments by consensus.

The Chair may set up sub-groups for the purpose of examining specific questions on the basis of terms of reference defined by the Commission. Sub-groups shall operate in compliance with the Commission’s horizontal rules on expert groups (‘the horizontal rules’) and shall report to the ad hoc Steering Board. They shall be dissolved as soon as their mandate is fulfilled.

The Chair may invite experts with specific expertise with respect to a subject matter on the agenda to take part in the work of the ad hoc Steering Board or its sub-groups on an ad hoc basis.

1 The Secretariat of the Energy Community (‘Secretariat’) may participate in the meetings of the ad hoc Steering Board, as an Observer, upon invitation of the Commission on matters of mutual concern. In that case, it shall nominate its representative(s).

2 Representatives of the Energy Community Contracting Parties may participate in the meetings of the ad hoc Steering Board upon invitation of the Commission on matters of mutual concern.

3 Observers and their representatives, as well as representatives of the Energy Community Contracting Parties, may be permitted by the Chair to take part in the discussions of the ad hoc Steering Board and any sub-groups and provide expertise. However, they shall not participate in the formulation of assessments to the ad hoc Steering Board.

The ad hoc Steering Board shall adopt its Rules of Procedure by qualified majority at its first meeting.

1 Members of the ad hoc Steering Board shall handle sensitive information with due confidentiality, including any commercially sensitive information, which shall not be shared with any undertakings or used for any other purpose than for fulfilling the tasks of the ad hoc Steering Board specified in this Decision.

2 Any personal data that might be processed as part of demand aggregation and joint purchasing shall be processed in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

The members of the ad hoc Steering Board as well as invited experts and observers, are subject to the obligation of professional secrecy, which by virtue of the Treaties and the rules implementing them applies to all members of the institutions and their staff, as well as to the Commission’s rules on security regarding the protection of Union classified information, laid down in Commission Decisions (EU, Euratom) 2015/443 and 2015/444 . Should they fail to respect these obligations, the Commission may take all appropriate measures.

1 The ad hoc Steering Board and any sub-groups shall be registered in the Register of Commission expert groups and other similar entities (‘the Register of expert groups’).

2 As concerns the ad hoc Steering Board and sub-groups’ composition, the following data shall be published in the Register of expert groups: (1) the name of Member State’s authorities represented in the ad hoc Steering Board; (2) the name of observers.

3 All relevant documents, including the agendas, the minutes and the participants’ submissions, shall be made available on the Register of expert groups. In particular, the agenda and other relevant background documents shall be published in due time ahead of the meeting, followed by timely publication of minutes. Exceptions to publication shall only be possible where it is deemed that disclosure of a document would undermine the protection of a public or private interest referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council .

1 Participants in the activities of the ad hoc Steering Board and its sub-groups shall not be remunerated for the services they offer.

2 Travel expenses incurred by participants in the activities of the ad hoc Steering Board and sub-groups shall be reimbursed by the Commission. Reimbursement shall be made in accordance with the provisions in force within the Commission and within the limits of the available appropriations allocated to the Commission departments under the annual procedure for the allocation of resources.