EU Methane Regulation: The Commission’s proposed one-year postponement of the importer requirements falls short

Brussels, 14 October 2026 – The European Commission’s proposed one-year postponement of the EU Methane Regulation’s importer requirements acknowledges implementation difficulties but offers neither sufficient time to complete the compliance framework nor a mechanism to extend the deadline if critical gaps remain. 

IOGP Europe reiterates its call for a three-year postponement, as requested by 18 industry organisations in their joint letter of 8 October¹. At a minimum, the amended Regulation should establish clear conditions for compliance readiness and allow for a further extension if these conditions are not met. 

“The Commission once again recognises the problem but fails to propose an adequate solution. A rigid one-year postponement risks putting us in exactly the same situation twelve months from now. Based on the amount of work that still needs to be done, we believe completing the compliance framework will take three years. This timeframe is also consistent with the Commission’s own Recommendations to Member States for a three-year grace period on penalties”, said François-Régis Mouton de Lostalot, Managing Director of IOGP Europe.

 

“At the very least, the legislation should provide the flexibility to extend the deadline if the compliance framework is still not ready”, Mouton de Lostalot added.

Significant gaps remain in the compliance framework. Verification protocols and accreditation procedures need to be finalised and endorsed, verifiers accredited, producers independently verified, and recognised compliance solutions deployed across international supply chains. These steps are interdependent and rely on multiple actors beyond importers’ control. In their joint letter, the 18 organisations estimated that the process from accreditation to first certificates alone would at a minimum take more than twelve months, and called for the necessary compliance systems to be operational at least six months before the obligations apply. 

There is ample precedent for adjusting EU legislation when implementation arrangements are not ready. The EU postponed the application of the Deforestation Regulation twice and delayed the Batteries Regulation’s due diligence requirements by two years, in part to address shortcomings in verification and other implementation systems. The same pragmatic approach is needed here. 

The proposal also leaves Article 12(3) unchanged, which risks undermining a level playing field for EU producers exposed to compliance and enforcement risks, despite the 18 organisations’ request to postpone these provisions alongside the importer requirements set out in Articles 28(1)(2) and 29(1).

IOGP Europe calls on Member States and the European Parliament to address these shortcomings in the coming weeks. A postponement should be an active implementation period, with clear milestones and the means to deliver a workable Regulation that reduces methane emissions without jeopardising Europe’s energy security and affordability. 

1 https://iogpeurope.org/news/one-year-delays-the-problem-three-years-will-fix-it-why-a-three-year-postponement-of-the-eu-methane-regulations-importer-requirements-is-needed/