Natural gas markets are heavily shaped by their pricing mechanisms, and such mechanisms are one of the clear markers of a liberalized natural gas sector.The EU and its Member States have been continuously striving for the liberalization of natural gas pricing, all while keeping protective mechanisms for certain end-customers, and more recently so after the 2022 energy crisis. Directive 2024/1788 comes as the latest framework in regards to natural gas pricing, and reflects a strong willingness from the EU at achieving this balance, which can be mistakenly interpreted as a re-regulation of natural gas prices.As such, this article retraces the evolution of the pricing mechanisms among EU Member States before and after liberalization of their natural gas sectors via the Gas Directives. Incentives behind the progressive liberalization of natural gas pricing will also be exposed, all while delving into the subtle balance achieved by Directive 2024/1788 between competitive, dynamic market-based pricing and stable, protective tariffs.
Yolane Labrosse (Sun,) studied this question.