Article 11

At the request of a Competent Authority that has declared an emergency and following the verification in accordance with Article 10(8), the Commission may declare a Union emergency or a regional emergency for a specifically affected geographical region. At the request of at least two Competent Authorities that have declared an emergency and following the verification in accordance with Article 10(8), and where the reasons for these emergencies are linked, the Commission shall declare, as appropriate, a Union or regional emergency. In all cases, the Commission, using the means of communication most appropriate to the situation, shall gather the views of, and take due account of all the relevant information provided by, the other Competent Authorities. When it assesses that the underlying basis for the Union or regional emergency no longer justifies a declaration of emergency, the Commission shall declare an end to the Union or regional emergency. In all cases, the Commission shall give its reasons and inform the Council of its decision. The Commission shall convene the Gas Coordination Group as soon as it declares a Union or regional emergency. During the Union or regional emergency, at the request of at least three Member States, the Commission may restrict participation in the Gas Coordination Group, for an entire meeting or part thereof, to the representatives of the Member States and the Competent Authorities. In a Union or regional emergency as referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission shall coordinate the action of the Competent Authorities, taking full account of relevant information from, and the results of, the consultation of the Gas Coordination Group. In particular, the Commission shall: ensure the exchange of information; ensure the consistency and effectiveness of action at Member State and regional levels in relation to the Union level; coordinate the actions with regard to third countries. The Commission may convene a crisis management group composed of the crisis managers referred to in Article 10(1)(g), of the Member States concerned by the emergency. The Commission, in agreement with the crisis managers, may invite other relevant stakeholders to participate. The Commission shall ensure that the Gas Coordination Group is regularly informed about the work undertaken by the crisis management group. The Member States and in particular the Competent Authorities shall ensure that: no measures are introduced which unduly restrict the flow of gas within the internal market at any time, notably the flow of gas to the affected markets; no measures are introduced that are likely to endanger seriously the gas supply situation in another Member State; and cross-border access to infrastructure in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 is maintained as far as technically and safely possible, in accordance with the Emergency Plan. Where, at the request of a Competent Authority or a natural gas undertaking or on its own initiative, the Commission considers that, in a Union or regional emergency, an action taken by a Member State or a Competent Authority or the behaviour of a natural gas undertaking is contrary to paragraph 5, the Commission shall request that Member State or Competent Authority to change its action or to take action in order to ensure compliance with paragraph 5, informing it of the reasons therefore. Due account shall be taken of the need to operate the gas system safely at all times. Within 3 days of notification of the Commission’s request, the Member State or the Competent Authority shall change its action and notify the Commission or shall set out to the Commission the reasons for which it does not agree with the request. In that case, the Commission may within 3 days amend or withdraw its request or convene the Member State or the Competent Authority and, where the Commission deems it necessary, the Gas Coordination Group in order to consider the issue. The Commission shall set out its detailed reasoning for requesting any changes to the action. The Member State or the Competent Authority shall take full account of the position of the Commission. Where the final decision of the Competent Authority or the Member State diverges from the Commission’s position, the Competent Authority or the Member State shall provide the reasoning underlying such decision. The Commission, after consulting the Gas Coordination Group, shall establish a permanent reserve list for a monitoring task force consisting of industry experts and representatives of the Commission. This monitoring task force may be deployed outside the Union when necessary and shall monitor and report on the gas flows into the Union, in cooperation with the supplying and transiting third countries. The Competent Authority shall provide to the Commission’s Civil Protection Monitoring and Information Centre the information on any need for assistance. The Civil Protection Monitoring and Information Centre shall assess the overall situation and provide advice on the assistance that should be provided to the most affected Member States, and where appropriate to third countries.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-04 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.