L 127/92 Official Journal of the European Union 29.4.2004 COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2004/67/EC of 26 April 2004 concerning measures to safeguard security of natural gas supply (Text with EEA relevance) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, (4)  Security of supply obligations imposed on companies Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com- munity, and in particular Article 100 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (!), () Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (), After consulting the Committee of the Regions, (6) Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (), Whereas: (1) Natural gas (gas) is becoming an increasingly important component in Community energy supply, and, as indi- cated in the Green Paper ‘Towards a European strategy 7) for the security of energy supply’, the European Union is expected in the longer term to become increasingly dependent on gas imported from non-EU sources of supply. (2)  Following Directive 98/30/EC of the European Parlia- (8) ment and of the Council of 22 June 1998 concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas (%) and Directive 2003/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2003 concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas and repealing Directive 98/30/EC (°), the Community gas market is being liberalised. Consequently, regarding ©) security of supply, any difficulty having the effect of reducing gas supply could cause serious disturbances in the economic activity of the Community; for this reason, there is a growing need to ensure security of gas supply. (3)  The completion of the internal gas market necessitates a minimum common approach to security of supply, in particular through transparent and non-discriminatory security of supply policies compatible with the require- ments of such a market, in order to avoid market distor- tions. Definition of clear roles and responsibilities of all market players is therefore crucial in safeguarding security of gas supply and the well-functioning of the internal market. (10) (11) 1 () O] C 331 E, 31.12.2002, p. 262. () O] C 133, 6.6.2003, p. 16. (}) Opinion not yet published in the Official Journal. () OJ L 204, 21.7.1998, p. 1. () OJL 176, 15.7.2003, p. 57. 5 should not impede the well functioning of the internal market and should not impose unreasonable and dispro- portionate burden on gas market players, including new market entrants and small market players. In view of the growing gas market in the Community, it is important that the security of gas supply is main- tained, in particular as regards household customers. A large choice of instruments are available for the industry and, if appropriate, for Member States, to comply with the security of supply obligations. Bilateral agreements between Member States could be one of the means to contribute to the achievement of the minimum security of supply standards, having due regard to the Treaty and secondary legislation, in particular Article 3(2) of Directive 2003/55/EC. Indicative minimum targets for gas storage could be set either at national level or by the industry. It is under- stood that this should not create any additional invest- ment obligations. Considering the importance of securing gas supply, i.e. on the basis of long-term contracts, the Commission should monitor the developments on the gas market on the basis of reports from Member States. In order to meet growing demand for gas and diversify gas supplies as a condition for a competitive internal gas market, the Community will need to mobilise significant additional volumes of gas over the coming decades much of which will have to come from distant sources and transported over long distances. The Community has a strong common interest with gas supplying and transit countries in ensuring continued investments in gas supply infrastructure. Long-term contracts have played a very important role in securing gas supplies for Europe and will continue to do so. The current level of long term contracts is adequate on the Community level, and it is believed that such contracts will continue to make a significant contri- bution to overall gas supplies as companies continue to include such contracts in their overall supply portfolio.