By Kate Abnett

BRUSSELS (Reuters). The European Union plan to allow countries to purchase gas together may increase supply and secure better terms in the future, however, officials and analysts from the EU believe it will not help in an emergency.

On Thursday, Europe was under greater pressure to find alternative sources of gas after Moscow placed sanctions on European subsidiaries (MCX:). Also, Ukraine cut off a transit route for gas from Europe. This has pushed prices up.

In April, the EU launched a platform that would pool gas demand and buy it together to make Europe more independent from Russian gas. After Russia reduced gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, the urgency of finding alternative sources has increased.

EU gas buyers, whether they are together or not, face an uncertain market that is soaring in price and short supply. After months of rising prices, European gas prices reached record levels following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Russia supplies 40% of EU’s gas.

It is very difficult to find non-committed gas on the market. It is absurd that the EU could find any new gas in a market where the price of current member state prices are higher than it can find. Christian Egenhofer, Centre for European Policy Studies.

EU leaders declared in March that they will work to buy joint gas with a “view to next winter.” But, it seems that the executive Commission is looking towards the future.

The draft Commission document that is part of the package to reduce dependence on Russian energy will be released next week. It stated that the joint purchasing platform “notably would establish long-term partnership with energy supplying nations”.

Analysts suggested that the EU may be able to leverage its power as the biggest buyer of gas in order to strike longer-term deals, not only for hydrogen but also for low-carbon imports.

Jacob Mandel, Senior Associate with Aurora Energy Research said that “where I believe it could help is when you set contractual terms for large suppliers.”

Brussels must first manage the complicated process of co-ordinating negotiations and purchasing between the EU, the national governments, and the individual companies.

The EU plan would allow the Commission and EU officials to negotiate agreements, although it’s not known at what stage companies would get involved or how much influence they would have over prices and terms.

The EU scheme’s voluntary participation raises concerns about the ability to attract enough buyers to make it a strong negotiation bloc.

Officials from the EU said that Bulgaria, Spain, Spain, and the Czech Republic were all interested in the plan. A German official confirmed to Reuters that Germany, the biggest EU gas buyer is also supportive of the plan. But, companies will have to make their own decisions about whether or not they wish to join.

A EU official stated that some big energy companies were reluctant to sign deals, but they could already do so with large suppliers. According to an EU official, “The major ones don’t see the business case in it” and spoke under anonymity.