Professional secrecy
1. Any confidential information received, exchanged, or transmitted in accordance with this Regulation shall be subject to the requirements of professional secrecy laid down in this Article.
2. The obligation of professional secrecy shall apply to all persons who work or who have worked for authorities involved in the implementation of this Regulation and to any natural or legal person to whom the relevant authorities have delegated their powers, including auditors and experts contracted by those authorities.
3. Information covered by professional secrecy shall not be disclosed, except by virtue of provisions laid down by Union or national law.
4. All information exchanged between the relevant authorities or Member States in accordance with this Regulation that concerns business conditions or operational conditions or other economic or personal affairs shall be considered confidential and shall be subject to the requirements of professional secrecy, except where the relevant authority states at the time of the communication that such information may be disclosed, where the disclosure is required by virtue of provisions laid down under Union or national law or where such disclosure is necessary for legal proceedings.
Monitoring
1. The Commission shall continuously monitor the development of the Union’s energy market, in particular in respect of potential gas supply dependencies or other risks to the security of energy supply related to energy imports from the Russian Federation. By 4 February 2028, the Commission shall submit a report on the implementation of this Regulation to the European Parliament and the Council.
That report shall include an assessment of the effectiveness of the prior authorisation procedure provided for in Article 5. It shall also include information on possible security of supply issues related to natural gas that originates in or is exported, directly or indirectly, from the Russian Federation in Union storages. In addition, the report shall include an evaluation of the effectiveness of the exchange of information and cooperation among the relevant authorities in accordance with Article 6 and Article 7(2) and (5), and, where appropriate, shall set out recommendations for the improvement of such exchange of information and cooperation.
2. In the case of sudden and significant developments which seriously threaten the security of energy supply of one or more Member States, and after an emergency in accordance with Article 11 or 12 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1938 has been declared, the Commission may, by means of a decision, temporarily suspend the application of Chapter II of this Regulation in one or more Member States, in whole or in part. In such a case, the Commission may also suspend the requirement of prior authorisation pursuant to Article 5(2) of this Regulation. The Commission’s decision shall contain certain conditions, in particular to ensure that any suspension is strictly limited to addressing the threat. The suspension shall be limited to a duration which is strictly necessary to bridge the time until there are sufficient supplies from countries other than the Russian Federation to meet Union demand. It shall not be granted for more than 4 weeks at a time and shall only be renewed if the conditions for the emergency pursuant to Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1938 continue to apply. Only short-term supply contracts shall be allowed under a temporary suspension pursuant to this paragraph. The Commission shall inform the Member States and the Gas Coordination Group of any such suspension, and shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council justifying the suspension and any extension thereof. The Commission shall present the report to the European Parliament if invited to do so.
Entry into force and application
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .
Article 3 shall apply from 18 March 2026, except where otherwise specified in Article 4.
Article 5 shall apply from 18 February 2026.
This Regulation is without prejudice to the application of the prohibition related to LNG established in Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 which shall apply and be complied with regardless of the provisions of this Regulation.
