Article 4

The Competent Authority of each Member State, after consulting the natural gas undertakings, the relevant organisations representing the interests of household and industrial gas customers and the national regulatory authority, where it is not the Competent Authority, shall, without prejudice to paragraph 3, establish at national level: a Preventive Action Plan containing the measures needed to remove or mitigate the risks identified, in accordance with the risk assessment undertaken pursuant to Article 9; and an Emergency Plan containing the measures to be taken to remove or mitigate the impact of a gas supply disruption in accordance with Article 10. Before adopting a Preventive Action Plan and an Emergency Plan at national level, the Competent Authorities shall, by 3 June 2012, exchange their draft Preventive Action Plans and Emergency Plans and consult each other at the appropriate regional level, and the Commission, with a view to ensuring that their draft Plans and measures are not inconsistent with the Preventive Action Plan and the Emergency Plan of another Member State and that they comply with this Regulation and with other provisions of Union law. Such consultation shall be carried out in particular between neighbouring Member States, notably between isolated systems forming gas islands and their neighbouring Member States, and may cover for instance those Member States identified in the indicative list of Annex IV. Based on the consultations referred to in paragraph 2 and possible recommendations from the Commission, the Competent Authorities concerned may decide to establish joint Preventive Action Plans at regional level (joint Preventive Action Plans) and joint Emergency Plans at regional level (joint Emergency Plans), in addition to the Plans established at national level. In the case of joint Plans, the Competent Authorities concerned shall endeavour, where appropriate, to conclude agreements in order to implement regional cooperation. If necessary, these agreements shall be formally endorsed by Member States. When establishing and implementing the Preventive Action Plan and the Emergency Plan at national and/or regional level, the Competent Authority shall take due account of the safe operation of the gas system at all times and address and set out in those Plans the technical constraints affecting the operation of the network, including the technical and safety reasons which may lead to the reduction of flows in the event of an emergency. No later than 3 December 2012, the Preventive Action Plans and Emergency Plans, including, where applicable, joint Plans, shall be adopted and made public. Such Plans shall be notified to the Commission without delay. The Commission shall inform the Gas Coordination Group. Competent Authorities shall ensure the regular monitoring of the implementation of such Plans. Within 3 months of the notification by the Competent Authorities of the Plans referred to in paragraph 5: the Commission shall assess those Plans, in accordance with point (b). In order to do so, the Commission shall consult the Gas Coordination Group on those Plans and duly take its opinion into account. The Commission shall report its assessment of the Plans to the Gas Coordination Group; and where the Commission, based on these consultations: assesses that a Preventive Action Plan or an Emergency Plan is not effective to mitigate the risks as identified in the risk assessment, it may recommend to the Competent Authority or Competent Authorities concerned to amend the relevant Plan; considers that a Preventive Action Plan or an Emergency Plan is inconsistent with the risk scenarios or with the Plans of another Competent Authority, or that it does not comply with the provisions of this Regulation or other provisions of Union law, it shall request that the relevant Plan be amended; considers that the Preventive Action Plan endangers the security of gas supply of other Member States or of the Union as a whole, it shall decide to require the Competent Authority to review that Preventive Action Plan and may present specific recommendations for amending it. The Commission shall give detailed reasons for its decision. Within 4 months of notification of the Commission’s request referred to in paragraph 6(b)(ii), the Competent Authority concerned shall amend its Preventive Action Plan or Emergency Plan and notify the amended Plan to the Commission, or shall inform the Commission of the reasons for which it does not agree with the request. In the event of disagreement, the Commission may, within 2 months of the reply of the Competent Authority, withdraw its request or convene the Competent Authorities concerned 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 amendments to the Plan. The Competent Authority shall take full account of the position of the Commission. Where the final decision of the Competent Authority diverges from the Commission’s position, the Competent Authority shall provide and make public, together with that decision and the Commission position, the reasoning underlying such decision within 2 months of receipt of the position of the Commission. Where applicable, the Competent Authority shall without delay make the amended Plan public. Within 3 months of notification of the Commission’s decision referred to in paragraph 6(b)(iii), the Competent Authority concerned shall amend its Preventive Action Plan and notify the amended Plan to the Commission, or shall inform the Commission of the reasons for which it does not agree with the decision. In the event of disagreement, the Commission may, within 2 months of the reply of the Competent Authority, decide to amend or withdraw its request. If the Commission maintains its request, the Competent Authority concerned shall amend the Plan within 2 months of the notification of the Commission’s decision, taking utmost account of the Commission’s recommendations referred to in paragraph 6(b)(iii), and shall notify it to the Commission. The Commission shall inform the Gas Coordination Group and duly take into account their recommendations when drafting its opinion on the amended Plan, which shall be delivered within 2 months of the notification of the Competent Authority. The Competent Authority concerned shall take utmost account of the Commission’s opinion and within 2 months of receipt of the Commission’s opinion shall adopt and make public the resulting amended Plan. The confidentiality of commercially sensitive information shall be preserved.

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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.