EU Edges Closer to Forming a Gas-Buyers’ Cartel

Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg’s daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union.

Europe is getting its act together in a bid to both lower energy bills and ensure stable gas supplies after Russia cut flows to the region, Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic told us in an interview. Next month, the EU will open its first tender where businesses and governments can join forces as a buyers’ cartel to reach out to global suppliers. It’s a goal that has long proved elusive for the 27 member states, each with its own companies responsible for meeting national demand. The price Europe pays for its energy has become a crucial node in the fightback against China and the US on trade, with domestic industry still grappling with prices many times higher than before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Sefcovic expects the first deals through the European energy platform to be clinched around June, in time to help fill storage before the next heating season.