Swiss energy minister signs gas solidarity agreement in Berlin
Swiss Energy Minister Albert Rösti, alongside counterparts from Germany and Italy, signed a gas solidarity agreement in Berlin on Tuesday. Under this accord, the trio pledged mutual support in supplying gas to safeguard customers in times of crisis.
The Federal Council approved the trilateral agreement last Friday, with parliamentary endorsement pending. It aims to finalise a consultation draft, including ratification proposals and required funding, by May.
Switzerland does not have its own gas storage facilities, leaving the country dependent on neighbouring countries. According to the Federal Council, without an agreement in place there is a risk that these countries might reduce their gas supplies to Switzerland in the event of a shortage.
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Rösti signed the gas solidarity agreement along with German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck and Italy’s Environment and Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin. During his official visit to Berlin, Rösti also spoke with Volker Wissing, Germany’s minister for digital and transport affairs.
The topics discussed included rail transport on the Rhine-Alpine corridor and the introduction of digital automatic railway coupling, a mechanism typically located at each end of a rail vehicle, that connects them together to form a train. According to the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications, this will make rail freight transport simpler and more efficient.
Adapted from German by DeepL/amva
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