Following are the most notable documents and agreements related to the European Commission’s activity in the natural gas field:

• The Plan of Action 2011-2012 of the Southern Regional Initiative of Europe was launched in December 2010.
  The objective of the Plan of Action 2011-2012 is to synthesize the main projects that are being developed in the framework of the Southern Regional Initiative within the next years. The document that was evaluated shows how these projects respond to the necessary adaptation to the national regulations of the New European Legislative Package in Energy Material and the future implementation of the Network Gas Codes.
  The main areas that the future projects of the Action Plan 2011-2012 have been structured around are:
  -The harmonization of the Mechanisms for the Allocation of Capacity (CAM) and the Congestion Management Processes (CMP)
  -A 10 year Infrastructure Investment Plan
  -Demands in Transparency material as set by the 715/2009 Regulation.
  -Adaptation to the agreed upon models of Balance Systems in the Southern Region, on a European level, fee calculation procedures and mechanisms for the future development of Hubs.

The EC’s decision awarded 910 million euros to twelve electrical interconnection projects and 1,390 million euros to 31 gas transmission projects. The EC will co-finance up to 50% of the investment these projects require, over one and a half years. Support for bi-directional flow projects, supply security within the EU and import diversification (aid for new terminals, the Nabucco and Galsi projects, reinforcing the French natural gas pipelines for the Africa-Spain-France connection and the Larrau interconnection) figure among the projects that will receive aid.

• The EU Council issued a regulation Proposal concerning measures to safeguard the security of the natural gas supply on 12 March 2010. Following the European Parliament’s approval, on 12 November, the OJEU published Regulation (EU) No. 994/2010 of the European Parliament and the Council concerning measures to safeguard the security of the gas supply, thereby repealing Directive 2004/67/EC.
• The Conclusions of the European Council of February 4, 2011 highlighted that the domestic gas and electricity market needs to have caught up by 2014. A considerable effort to modernize and expand the European energy infrastructure and interconnect networks between borders is necessary, at the same time as the Commission’s priorities on energy infrastructures.
• The EU Council of February 28, 2011 established an energy strategy, with long and short term priorities in the fields of domestic energy markets, energy efficiency, infrastructures, research and innovation in low carbon energy technology, native energy sources and foreign energy relations. It was pointed out that the implementation of the third legislative package of the domestic energy market was a prerequisite for the strategy’s success.
  
• On March 8, the EEC adopted the Energy Efficiency Plan for 2011. This is a reinforcement plan with the objective of being able to save 20% of primary energy consumption in 2020 with respect to the predicted trends. This objective is already found in the Conclusions of the Presidency of the European Council of March 8 and 9, 2007, ratified by the Council of June 2010. Among the objectives hoping to be obtained are: savings in public and private buildings, efficiency in heat and electricity production and in electricity and gas networks.
• On March 21 and 22 a meeting of the Madrid Forum was held. Among the conclusions, the welcoming of the Agency for Cooperation of Energy Regulations (ACER), and the projects they are developing in order to define a Gas Target Model are highlighted. Their aim is to contribute support to the development of a network code to complete the domestic gas market in 2014.
• There was also a meeting of the Madrid Forum on September 26 and 27 in the National Energy Commission. Among the conclusions, we can highlight the advance in the implementation of the third packet, support the idea of developing gas infrastructure projects of European interest, under the umbrella of the Ten Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP). The efforts made to give incentive to the construction of trans-border pipelines are also congratulated.
• The June 16 Council approved the Directors Proposal for the introduction of energy and electricity products. The Commission proposes, effective 2013, the introduction of an explicit distinction between imposition linked to CO₂ emissions and imposition based on the energy content of the product that is going to be consumed.
• The Energy Roadmap 2050 has been one of the most worked on developments throughout 2011. The main objective of this initiative is to establish the mechanisms and action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 to 95% in 2050.
• Decision of the August 11, 2011 Commission wherein the composition and operating rules of the Gas Coordination Group were established. The group is created under the protection of the October 20, 2010 Council, about measures to guarantee the security of gas supply. The representatives of the European gas sector are the European Association that represents the gas storage managers, the gas supply industry and the European Association of Gas Markets.
• September 12 the UE adopted a Mandate to negotiate a treaty between the EU and Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. The objective is to construct a pipeline (The Trans Caspian Pipeline System) that connects producing countries and would allow the launching and culmination of the Nabucco pipeline, in order to supply gas to Europe. This is the first time that the European Union has proposed a Treaty to support an infrastructure project.
• October 19 the European Commission launched a European Interconnection Plan. The predicted funding is 50 billion Euros. The objective is to improve the European energy, digital and transportation networks. Related to gas, the Proposal for a Regulation for Trans-European Infrastructures, has in its Appendix II the following categories as objectives for development and implementation of the energy priorities (in this case, related to gas):
  
  -Gas and Biogas transportation pipelines that form part of the network.
  -Underground storage, connected to the high pressure network.
  -Regasification Plants.
  -Any essential security, efficiency and facilitation equipment of the bi-directional pipeline option.
• The informal dialogue that the European and North American energy regulators had was in another session held on October 3 and 4. In this meeting held in Chicago, subjects of mutual interest were discussed, as were the infrastructures and investments at the border crossings, the key challenges of regulation of new technologies and new practices, monitoring the market, energy efficiency policies and climate change and the generation matrix and its implications with regard to price, among other things.