By Hoin Ryou · 2026-10-27
Markets · October 27, 2026
The European Parliament voted on October 22 to delay key parts of the EU’s methane rules for energy importers and producers by three years, two years longer than the European Commission had proposed. The vote does not change the law yet. It sets Parliament’s position for negotiations with EU member states in the Council, which must agree before any new deadlines take effect.
For energy companies inside and outside the EU, the timetable matters. Importers have already been reporting information on the methane emissions of the fuel they bring in since May 2025. The next and more demanding step, proving that new or renewed supply contracts are covered by monitoring standards equivalent to the EU’s, is due to apply from January 1, 2027. A final agreement on the length of any delay will determine how much time importers, and the producers that supply them, have to show that the fuel they ship meets EU monitoring standards.
What the 2024 methane regulation requires
The EU Methane Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2024/1787, entered into force on August 4, 2024. It covers methane measurement, reporting and verification in the energy sector, leak detection and repair, and restrictions on venting and flaring. The European Parliament and the Commission both describe it as the world’s first comprehensive legislation that also covers methane emissions linked to imports of oil, gas and coal.
The import provisions are what is now under review. According to the Commission’s amending proposal, COM(2026) 569, importers have had to give national authorities information on the methane emissions linked to the crude oil, natural gas and coal they place on the EU market since May 5, 2025. From January 1, 2027, they must also show that contracts signed or renewed after August 4, 2024, for fuel produced outside the EU are subject to monitoring, reporting and verification at a level equivalent to what EU producers face. The regulation also requires EU producers and importers to report the methane intensity of the crude oil, natural gas and coal they place on the EU market by August 5, 2028, and from August 5, 2030, to demonstrate that this intensity is below maximum values still to be set by the Commission.
The Commission’s one-year proposal
The Commission announced on October 14 that it wanted to postpone by one year the monitoring, reporting and verification obligations for importers, together with the methane-intensity reporting duties for importers and EU producers. It linked the proposal to strained global energy markets and high prices associated with the conflict in the Middle East, and to the risk of reduced availability of gas and oil during the coming winter.
The Commission said the change would not affect the regulation’s ambition, integrity or scope, and that the extra year would give importers time to comply fully. It also pointed to two recommendations it adopted in July 2026, one on compliance solutions and one on penalties, as part of its effort to address industry concerns.
Parliament’s three-year version
Parliament adopted its negotiating position by 341 votes to 225, with 6 abstentions, under its urgent procedure. It agreed that the requirements should be postponed but backed a longer delay than the Commission. It also went beyond the Commission’s text, which changes only the importer and methane-intensity provisions: Parliament’s position also extends deadlines for EU oil and gas operators and adds separate treatment for supplies from sanctioned countries. Under Parliament’s text, as summarized in its press release:
- Importers would have until May 31, 2031, to prove that oil, gas and coal bought under contracts signed or renewed after August 4, 2024, comes only from supply that is monitored, reported and verified to a standard matching the EU’s. Under the Commission’s proposal, that first demonstration would have fallen in 2029. The 2031 date would also apply to reports on efforts to bring older contracts into line.
- EU producers and importers would first report the methane intensity of the fuels they place on the EU market by August 5, 2031, rather than the August 5, 2029, date in the Commission’s proposal.
- EU oil and gas operators would have an extra three years for verified reports that combine source-level and site-level methane measurements: until February 2030 for assets they operate and August 2031 for assets they do not operate.
- The Commission would report by July 1, 2029, on how the importer and methane-intensity provisions are working, covering national penalty regimes, accreditation of verifiers, recognition of compliance solutions, the methane-intensity methodology and security of supply. It would propose changes if implementation problems persist or supply is threatened.
Parliament also wants the amending regulation to enter into force the day after its publication in the EU’s Official Journal, so that companies gain legal clarity on the new dates without delay.
No extra time for sanctioned suppliers
One element of Parliament’s position cuts the other way. MEPs want the existing schedule to keep applying to oil, gas and coal that originates in, or is exported directly or indirectly from, countries under EU sanctions that prohibit or restrict imports of those fuels. To stop the exception from being bypassed, importers would have to report those volumes separately, including when they are part of mixed cargoes, and the Commission would keep a regularly updated indicative list of the countries covered.
What it means for exporters outside the EU
The legal obligations fall on EU importers rather than directly on foreign producers. In practice, however, importers need information and verification arrangements from their suppliers, so exporters of liquefied natural gas, crude oil and coal to Europe are affected by whichever timetable is finally adopted.
As of October 27, 2026, the Council had not adopted a negotiating position. Until it does and the two institutions agree, three versions of the calendar are on the table: the dates in the 2024 regulation, the Commission’s one-year delay and Parliament’s three-year delay. The practical pressure point is January 1, 2027, when the contract-equivalence obligation for importers is currently due to start. If no amendment is agreed and published before then, the existing dates remain the law.
What to watch next
- The Council’s negotiating position and the start of talks with Parliament, which says it is ready to begin.
- Whether the final text keeps Parliament’s separate treatment of supplies from sanctioned countries.
- The Commission’s implementing work on reporting templates, for which it opened a call for feedback on October 12.
- Updates to the legislative procedure file 2026/0325(COD), which tracks each formal step.
News Text commentary
Europe’s methane law was built on a simple idea: the climate impact of the fuel the EU buys should count, not only the emissions released inside its borders. Delaying the import provisions does not abandon that idea, but it tests it. A one-year pause explained by a difficult winter is easy to defend. A three-year pause starts to look like a different policy unless it comes with a credible path to verification. Parliament’s text tries to supply part of that path through a review date, firmer treatment of sanctioned supply and a duty to propose fixes if problems persist. Whether exporters treat the extra time as a runway or a reprieve will depend on what the Council accepts, and on whether European buyers keep writing monitoring requirements into new contracts regardless of the final date.
Primary records
- European Parliament press release: Methane rules: Parliament backs longer delay for energy importers and producers (October 22, 2026)
- European Commission, IP/26/2119: Commission proposes flexibility to methane importers to help save costs
- Proposal COM(2026) 569 amending Regulation (EU) 2024/1787
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1787 on the reduction of methane emissions in the energy sector