By John Ainger | Updated on Oct 06, 2026 at 10:10 AM
The European Union will look to appoint a market operator to help the bloc procure energy as it struggles with a second price crisis in less than five years.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday she wanted to take a system of joint purchases established to pool gas demand in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the “next level.” It would be broadened beyond gas to other energy sources, she said. She didn’t specify how the operator would be chosen or what its exact remit would be.
The existing system of joint purchases has sought to aggregate demand from EU buyers and match it with potential suppliers in a bid to drive down prices and better diversify gas supplies away from Russia. Yet its success in terms of final deals signed has been highly contested and big purchasers have preferred to stick with their existing methods of bilateral procurement.
“We want to move from simple matchmaking to aggregating demand and task a market operator to do the joint procurement,” Von der Leyen told the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. “We need to invest in our resilience.”
With energy prices climbing once again amid protracted disruptions to oil and gas flows through the Strait of Hormuz, it’s set to be a key topic of discussion when leaders meet in Brussels next week. Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen has called on member states to consider measures to curb demand , but there are limited options to cut prices in the short term.