Joint statement: Commission Recommendations on Penalties are helpful but do not provide industry with the needed legal certainty

IOGP Europe and 18 industry organisations welcome the Commission’s intention to address energy supply risks through the draft Recommendation on penalties. However, the Recommendation does not provide sufficient legal certainty, raises the risk of fragmented implementation, and fails to solve the fundamental compliance challenges in the Regulation.

Ahead of the June 2026 EU Summit and Energy Council meetings, the signatories call on Member States to urge the Commission to present a revised implementation timeline for the Regulation’s importer requirements that come into effect on 1 January 2027.

IOGP Europe and the co-signatories actively contribute towards an effective framework which drives methane emissions reduction and support compliance with the EU Methane Regulation. However, several requirements of the Regulation as currently written – including an incoherent timeline due to the fact that key elements of the Regulation’s compliance framework are not yet in place – risk forcing EU oil and gas importers into a situation of non-compliance.

As shown in a recent study by Wood Mackenzie, as much as 43% of natural gas imports and up to 87% of crude oil imports could as a result be deterred from the EU market, with significant impacts on energy affordability for households and industry in the region.¹

“The draft Recommendation shows that the Commission acknowledges the risks associated with implementing the EU Methane Regulation as currently written. While helpful, this isn’t enough: only targeted amendments can deliver the legal certainty required. The EU needs regulations that industry can comply with and which does not jeopardize access to reliable, affordable energy for households and industry,” says François-Régis Mouton de Lostalot, IOGP Europe Managing Director.

¹ See: https://iogpeurope.org/projects/the-impact-of-the-eu-methane-regulation/