The first joint gas purchases in the EU are a done deal. "I am pleased to report that the first contracts have already been signed," said EU Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic in Brussels on Friday. He is confident that further contracts will be signed.

Against the background of the Ukraine war last year, the EU countries decided to buy gas together in order to secure more stable prices for companies and to refill the gas storage facilities. In addition, it should be avoided that the EU countries outbid each other.

To this end, European companies were able to register their gas requirements on a platform in a first round of tenders at the end of April, after which the total volume was tendered on the world market. International gas suppliers - with the exception of Russian companies - were then asked to submit offers to supply European customers.

According to the Commission, 25 gas suppliers had submitted offers with a volume of 13.4 billion cubic meters of gas by mid-May. This exceeded the combined demand of the EU countries of 11.6 billion cubic meters, it said. In a second round of tenders, companies in Europe are once again asked to register their gas requirements from the end of June.