The European Commission is considering making joint purchases of natural gas obligatory for all member states, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
Brussels believes that a platform for joint purchases will enable the bloc to find better deals on gas prices and will be trying to pass the plan with a majority vote by the commission, bypassing the European Parliament in the process, via an emergency treaty article used to propose windfall taxes on energy companies.
The supposed plan would require EU energy firms to sign up for the platform and to carry out at least partial gas purchases through it, but the companies remain skeptical about the effect the plan could have on gas prices, according to the report.