Czechia and Germany Close to Deal on Gas Sharing

The Czech Republic and Germany are close to reaching an agreement on sharing gas in times of emergency, Czech Industry Minister Jozef Sikela said on Monday, as the countries seek to bolster energy security amid dwindling supplies of Russian gas.

“I believe we have made significant progress in this issue, and that we will be able to close our mutual deal soon,” Sikela said in a joint news conference with German Economy Minister Robert Habeck in Prague.

Bilateral pacts are a part of European Union plans to cope with any gas supply shock, although deals have been slow to materialise.

Sikela said the two countries had defined conditions under which they would start sharing gas as well as what compensation the Czech Republic would pay Germany for use of the mechanism, without disclosing further details.

Germany had been a large destination and transit country for Russian gas supplies before Moscow began reducing exports to the European Union in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions from Brussels.

The Czech Republic was nearly entirely dependent on Russian supplies via German routes, but it has diversified supplies, like other EU countries.

The landlocked country continues to receive nearly all of its gas through the German transport system, now coming from west European LNG terminals and Norway.