Council Directive 2009/119/ECShow full title

Article 1 U.K. Objective

This Directive lays down rules aimed at ensuring a high level of security of oil supply in the Community through reliable and transparent mechanisms based on solidarity amongst Member States, maintaining minimum stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products and putting in place the necessary procedural means to deal with a serious shortage.

Article 2 U.K. Definitions

For the purposes of this Directive:

(a)

‘reference year’ means the calendar year of the consumption or of the net import data used to calculate either the stocks to be held or the stocks actually held at a given time;

(b)

‘additives’ means non-hydrocarbon compounds added to or blended with a product to modify its properties;

(c)

‘biofuel’ means liquid or gaseous fuel for transport produced from biomass, ‘biomass’ being the biodegradable fraction of products, waste and residues from agriculture (including vegetable and animal substances), forestry and related industries, as well as the biodegradable fraction of industrial and municipal waste;

(d)

‘inland consumption’ means the total quantities, calculated according to Annex II, delivered within a country for both energy and non-energy use; this aggregate includes deliveries to the transformation sector and deliveries to industry, transport, households and other sectors for ‘final’ consumption; it also includes the own consumption of the energy sector (except refinery fuel);

(e)

‘effective international decision to release stocks’ means any decision in force taken by the Governing Board of the International Energy Agency to make crude oil or petroleum products available to the market by a release of its members 'stocks and/or additional measures;

(f)

‘central stockholding entity’ (CSE) means the body or service upon which powers may be conferred to act to acquire, maintain or sell oil stocks, including emergency stocks and specific stocks;

(g)

‘major supply disruption’ means a substantial and sudden drop in the supply of crude oil or petroleum products to the Community or to a Member State, irrespective of whether or not it has led to an effective international decision to release stocks;

(h)

‘international marine bunkers’ has the meaning given in Section 2.1 of Annex A to Regulation (EC) No 1099/2008;

(i)

[F1 ‘ oil stocks ’ means stocks of the energy products listed in Chapter 3.4 of Annex A to Regulation (EC) No 1099/2008;]

(j)

‘emergency stocks’ means the oil stocks that each Member State is required to maintain pursuant to Article 3;

(k)

‘commercial stocks’ means those oil stocks held by economic operators which are not a requirement under this Directive;

(l)

‘specific stocks’ means oil stocks that meet the criteria set out in Article 9;

(m)

‘physical accessibility’ means arrangements for locating and transporting stocks to ensure their release or effective delivery to end users and markets within time frames and conditions conducive to alleviating the supply problems which may have arisen.

The definitions set out in this Article may be clarified or amended in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 23(2).

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Implementing Directive (EU) 2018/1581 of 19 October 2018 amending Council Directive 2009/119/EC as regards the methods for calculating stockholding obligations.

Article 3 U.K. Emergency stocks — Calculating stockholding obligations

1. Member States shall adopt such laws, regulations or administrative provisions as may be appropriate in order to ensure, by 31 December 2012, that the total oil stocks maintained at all times within the Community for their benefit correspond, at the very least, to 90 days of average daily net imports or 61 days of average daily inland consumption, whichever of the two quantities is greater.

2. The average daily net imports to be taken into account shall be calculated on the basis of the crude oil equivalent of imports during the previous calendar year, determined in accordance with the method and procedures set out in Annex I.

The average daily inland consumption to be taken into account shall be calculated on the basis of the crude oil equivalent of inland consumption during the previous calendar year, established and calculated in accordance with the method and procedures set out in Annex II.

[F1 3. However, notwithstanding paragraph 2, the daily averages of net imports and inland consumption, as referred to in that paragraph, shall be determined, as regards the period from 1 January to 30 June of each calendar year, on the basis of the quantities imported or consumed during the last year but one before the calendar year in question.]

4. The methods and procedures for calculating stockholding obligations, as referred to in this Article, may be amended in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 23(2).

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Implementing Directive (EU) 2018/1581 of 19 October 2018 amending Council Directive 2009/119/EC as regards the methods for calculating stockholding obligations.

Article 4 U.K. Calculating stock levels

1. The levels of stocks held shall be calculated using the methods set out in Annex III. When calculating stock levels for each category held pursuant to Article 9, those methods shall apply only to the products in the category in question.

2. The levels of stocks held at a given time shall be calculated using data from the reference year determined in accordance with the rules set out in Article 3.

3. Any oil stocks may be included simultaneously in both the calculation of a Member State’s emergency stocks and the calculation of its specific stocks provided that those oil stocks satisfy all the conditions laid down in this Directive for both types of stocks.

4. The methods and procedures for calculating stock levels, as referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, may be amended in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 23(2). In particular, it may prove necessary and beneficial to amend those methods and procedures, including the application of the reduction provided for in Annex III, in order to ensure coherence with IEA practice.

Article 5 U.K. Availability of stocks

1. At all times, Member States shall ensure that emergency stocks and specific stocks are available and physically accessible for the purposes of this Directive. They shall establish arrangements for the identification, accounting and control of those stocks so as to allow them to be verified at any time. This requirement also applies to any emergency stocks and specific stocks that are commingled with other stocks held by economic operators.

Member States shall take all necessary measures to prevent all obstacles and encumbrances that could hamper the availability of emergency stocks and specific stocks. Each Member State may set limits or additional conditions on the possibility of its emergency stocks and specific stocks being held outside its territory.

2. Where there is reason to implement the emergency procedures provided for in Article 20, Member States shall prohibit, and refrain from taking, any measure hindering the transfer, use or release of emergency stocks or specific stocks held within their territory on behalf of another Member State.

Article 6 U.K. Register of emergency stocks — Annual report

1. Each Member State shall keep a continually updated and detailed register of all emergency stocks held for its benefit which do not constitute specific stocks. [F1 That register shall contain, in particular, information needed to pinpoint the depot, refinery or storage facility where the stocks in question are located, as well as the quantities involved, the owner of the stocks and their nature, with reference to the categories identified in Chapter 3.4 of Annex A to Regulation (EC) No 1099/2008.]

[F2 2. By 15 March each year, each Member State shall send the Commission a summary copy of the stock register referred to in paragraph 1 showing at least the quantities and nature of the emergency stocks included in the register on the last day of the preceding calendar year.]

3. Member States shall also send the Commission a full copy of the register within 15 days of a request by the Commission; in this copy sensitive data relating to the location of stocks may be withheld. Such requests may be made no later than 5 years after the date to which the requested data relate, and may not bear upon data relating to any period preceding 1 January 2013.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Implementing Directive (EU) 2018/1581 of 19 October 2018 amending Council Directive 2009/119/EC as regards the methods for calculating stockholding obligations.

F2 Substituted by Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action, amending Regulations (EC) No 663/2009 and (EC) No 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Directives 94/22/EC, 98/70/EC, 2009/31/EC, 2009/73/EC, 2010/31/EU, 2012/27/EU and 2013/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Directives 2009/119/EC and (EU) 2015/652 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Text with EEA relevance).

Article 7 U.K. Central stockholding entities

1. Member States may set up CSEs.

No Member State may set up more than one CSE or any other similar body. A Member State may set up its CSE at any location within the Community.

Where a Member State sets up a CSE, it shall take the form of a body or service without profit objective and acting in the general interest and shall not be considered to be an economic operator within the meaning of this Directive.

2. The main purpose of the CSE shall be to acquire, maintain and sell oil stocks for the purposes of this Directive or for the purpose of complying with international agreements concerning the maintenance of oil stocks. It is the only body or service upon which powers may be conferred to acquire or sell specific stocks.

3. CSEs or Member States may, for a specified period, delegate tasks relating to the management of emergency stocks and, with the exception of sale and acquisition, of specific stocks, but only to:

(a) another Member State within whose territory such stocks are located or the CSE set up by that Member State. Tasks thus delegated may not be subdelegated to other Member States or to CSEs set up by them. The Member State that set up the CSE, as well as each Member State within whose territory the stocks will be held, has the right to make the delegation conditional upon its authorisation;

(b) economic operators. Tasks thus delegated may not be subdelegated. Where such a delegation, or any change or extension to that delegation, involves tasks relating to the management of emergency and specific stocks held in another Member State, it must be authorised in advance both by the Member State on whose account the stocks are held and by all Member States within whose territories the stocks will be held.

4. Each Member State having a CSE shall require it, for the purposes of Article 8(1) and (2), to publish:

(a) on an ongoing basis, full information, broken down by product category, on the stock volumes that it can undertake to maintain for economic operators, or, where appropriate, interested CSEs;

(b) at least 7 months in advance, the conditions subject to which it is willing to provide services related to maintaining the stocks for economic operators. Τhe conditions under which services may be provided, including conditions relating to scheduling, may also be determined by competent national authorities or following a competitive procedure intended to determine the best bid among operators or, where appropriate, interested CSEs.

CSEs shall accept such delegations under objective, transparent and non-discriminatory conditions. Payments by the operators for the services of the CSE shall not exceed the full costs of the services rendered and may not be required until the stocks are constituted. The CSE may make its acceptance of a delegation conditional upon the operator’s provision of a guarantee or some other form of security.

Article 8 U.K. Economic operators

1. Each Member State shall ensure that any economic operator on which it imposes stockholding obligations in order to fulfil its obligations under Article 3 is given the right to delegate those obligations at least in part and at the choice of the economic operator, but only to:

(a) the CSE of the Member State on whose account such stocks are held;

(b) one or more other CSEs which have in advance declared themselves willing to hold such stocks, provided that such delegations have been authorised in advance both by the Member State on whose account such stocks are held and by all Member States within whose territories the stocks will be held;

(c) other economic operators which have surplus stocks or available stockholding capacity outside of the territory of the Member State on whose account the stocks are held within the Community, provided that such delegation has been authorised in advance both by the Member State on whose account such stocks are held and by all Member States within whose territories the stocks will be held; and/or

(d) other economic operators which have surplus stocks or available stockholding capacity within the territory of the Member State on whose account the stocks are held, provided that such delegation has been communicated in advance to the Member State. Member States may impose limits or conditions on such delegations.

Obligations delegated in accordance with points (c) and (d) may not be subdelegated. Any change to or extension of a delegation referred to in points (b) and (c) shall only take effect if authorised in advance by all Member States which authorised the delegation. Any change to or extension of a delegation referred to in point (d) shall be treated as a new delegation.

2. Each Member State may restrict the delegation rights of the economic operators on which it imposes or has imposed stockholding obligations.

However, where such restrictions limit the delegation rights of an economic operator to amounts corresponding to less than 10 % of the stockholding obligation imposed on it, the Member State shall ensure that it has set up a CSE that is required to accept delegations in respect of the amount needed to safeguard the right of an economic operator to delegate at least 10 % of the stockholding obligation imposed on it.

The minimum percentage referred to in this paragraph shall be increased from 10 % to 30 % by 31 December 2017.

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, a Member State may impose an obligation on an economic operator to delegate at least part of its stockholding obligation to the CSE of the Member State.

4. Member States shall take the necessary measures to inform economic operators of the modalities to be used to calculate the stockholding obligations imposed on them no later than 200 days prior to the start of the period to which the obligation in question relates. Economic operators shall exercise their right to delegate stockholding obligations to CSEs no later than 170 days prior to the start of the period to which the obligation in question relates.

Where economic operators are informed less than 200 days before the start of the period to which the stockholding obligation relates, they may exercise their right to delegate that obligation at any time.

Article 9 U.K. Specific stocks

1. Each Member State may undertake to maintain a minimum level of oil stocks, calculated in terms of number of days of consumption, in accordance with the conditions set out in this Article.

Specific stocks shall be owned by the Member State or the CSE set up by it and shall be maintained on the territory of the Community.

[F1 2. Specific stocks can only be composed of one or more of the following product categories, as defined in Chapter 3.4 of Annex A to Regulation (EC) No 1099/2008:]

• Ethane

• LPG

• Motor gasoline

• Aviation gasoline

• Gasoline-type jet fuel (naphtha-type jet fuel or JP4)

• Kerosene-type jet fuel

• Other kerosene

• Gas/diesel oil (distillate fuel oil)

• Fuel oil (high sulphur content and low sulphur content)

• White spirit and SBP

• Lubricants

• Bitumen

• Paraffin waxes

• Petroleum coke

3. Petroleum products constituting specific stocks shall be identified by each Member State on the basis of the categories listed in paragraph 2. Member States shall ensure that, for the reference year determined in accordance with the rules set out in Article 3 and concerning the products included in the categories used, the crude oil equivalent of quantities consumed in the Member State is at least equal to 75 % of inland consumption calculated using the method set out in Annex II.

For each of the categories chosen by the Member State, the specific stocks it undertakes to maintain shall correspond to a given number of days of average daily consumption measured on the basis of their crude oil equivalent during the reference year determined in accordance with the rules set out in Article 3.

[F1 The crude oil equivalents referred to in the first and second subparagraphs are calculated by multiplying by a factor of 1,2 the sum of the aggregate ‘ observed gross inland deliveries ’ , as defined in Section 3.2.2.11 of Annex C to Regulation (EC) No 1099/2008, for the products included in the categories used or concerned. International marine bunkers are not included in the calculation.]

4. Each Member State that has decided to maintain specific stocks shall send the Commission a notice to be published in the Official Journal of the European Union, specifying the level of such stocks that it has undertaken to maintain and the duration of such undertaking which shall be at least 1 year. The notified minimum level shall apply equally to all categories of specific stocks used by the Member State.

The Member State shall ensure that such stocks are held the full length of the notified period without prejudice to the right of the Member State to undergo temporary reductions due solely to individual stock replacement operations.

The list of categories used by a Member State shall remain in effect for at least 1 year and may be amended only with effect on the first day of a calendar month.

5. Each Member State that has not made a commitment for the full length of a given calendar year to maintain at least 30 days of specific stocks shall ensure that at least one-third of their stockholding obligation is held in the form of products composed in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3.

A Member State for which less than 30 days of specific stocks are held shall draw up an annual report analysing the measures taken by its national authorities to ensure and verify the availability and physical accessibility of its emergency stocks as referred to in Article 5 and shall document in the same report arrangements made to allow the Member State to control the use of these stocks in case of oil supply disruptions. That report shall be sent to the Commission by the end of the first month of the calendar year to which it relates.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Implementing Directive (EU) 2018/1581 of 19 October 2018 amending Council Directive 2009/119/EC as regards the methods for calculating stockholding obligations.

Article 10 U.K. Managing specific stocks

1. Each Member State shall keep a continually updated and detailed register of all specific stocks held within its territory. That register shall contain, in particular, all information needed to pinpoint the exact location of the stocks in question.

Member States shall also send the Commission a copy of the register within 15 days of a request by the Commission. In this copy, sensitive data relating to the location of stocks may be withheld. Such requests may be made no later than 5 years after the date to which the requested data relate.

2. Where specific stocks are commingled with other oil stocks, Member States or their CSEs shall make the necessary arrangements to prevent those commingled products from being moved, to the extent of the proportion constituting specific stocks, without prior written authorisation by the owner of the specific stocks and by the authorities of, or the CSE established by, the Member State in whose territory the stocks are located.

3. Member States shall take the necessary measures to confer unconditional immunity from enforcement action on all specific stocks maintained or transported within their territory, irrespective of whether those stocks are owned by them or by other Member States.

Article 11 U.K. The effect of delegations

The delegations referred to in Articles 7 and 8 shall in no way alter the obligations incumbent upon each Member State pursuant to this Directive.

Article 12 U.K. Statistical summaries of stocks covered by Article 3

1. With regard to the levels of stocks to be held pursuant to Article 3, each Member State shall draw up statistical summaries and submit them to the Commission in accordance with the rules set out in Annex IV.

2. The rules for drawing up the summaries referred to in paragraph 1, their scope, content and frequency and the deadlines for their submission may be amended in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 23(2). The rules for submitting those summaries to the Commission may also be amended in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 23(2).

3. Member States may not include quantities of crude oil or petroleum products which are subject to a seizure order or enforcement action in their statistical summaries of emergency stocks. This also applies to stocks owned by companies that are bankrupt or have entered into an arrangement with creditors.

Article 13 U.K. Statistical summaries of specific stocks

1. Each Member State concerned shall draw up and submit to the Commission a statistical summary, for each product category, showing the specific stocks existing on the last day of each calendar month and specifying the quantities and the number of days of average consumption in the reference year which those stocks represent. If some of those specific stocks are held outside a Member State’s territory, it shall provide details of the stocks maintained in or by the various Member States and CSEs concerned. It shall also provide a detailed indication of whether it owns all of those stocks or whether they are owned, in whole or in part, by its CSE.

2. Each Member State concerned shall also draw up and submit to the Commission a summary of the specific stocks located within its territory and owned by other Member States or CSEs, showing the stocks existing on the last day of each calendar month and broken down into the product categories identified pursuant to Article 9(4). In that summary, the Member State shall also indicate, in each case, the Member State or CSE concerned and the quantities involved.

3. The statistical summaries referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be submitted during the calendar month following that to which they relate.

4. Copies of the statistical summaries shall also be sent immediately upon request by the Commission. Such requests may be made no later than 5 years after the date to which the data in question relate.

5. The scope, content and frequency of the statistical summaries and the deadlines for their submission may be amended in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 23(2). The rules for submitting those summaries to the Commission may also be amended in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 23(2).

Article 14 U.K. Summaries of commercial stocks

1. Member States shall send the Commission a monthly statistical summary of the levels of commercial stocks held within their national territory. When doing so, they shall ensure that sensitive data are protected and shall abstain from mentioning the names of the owners of the stocks concerned.

2. Using aggregate levels, the Commission shall publish a monthly statistical summary of the commercial stocks in the Community on the basis of the summaries submitted by the Member States.

3. The rules for submitting and publishing the statistical summaries, as well as for their frequency, may be amended in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 23(2).

Article 15 U.K. Data processing

The Commission shall be responsible for developing, hosting, managing and maintaining the IT resources needed to receive, store and carry out any processing of the data provided in the statistical summaries, all other information submitted by Member States or gathered by the Commission pursuant to this Directive and any data on oil stocks gathered pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1099/2008 and needed for the purpose of drawing up the summaries required by this Directive.

Article 16 U.K. Biofuels and additives

1. When calculating stockholding obligations under Articles 3 and 9 biofuels and additives shall be taken into account only where they have been blended with the petroleum products concerned.

2. When calculating the stock levels actually maintained, biofuels and additives shall be taken into account when:

(a) they have been blended with petroleum products concerned; or

(b) they are stored on the territory of the Member State concerned, provided that the Member State has adopted rules ensuring that they are to be blended with petroleum products held pursuant to stockholding requirements set out in this Directive and that they are to be used in transportation.

3. The rules for taking biofuels and additives into account when calculating stockholding obligations and stock levels, as laid down in paragraph 1 and 2, may be amended in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 23(2).

Article 17 U.K. Coordination Group for oil and petroleum products

1. A Coordination Group for oil and petroleum products is hereby set up (hereinafter the ‘Coordination Group’). The Coordination Group is a consultative Group that shall contribute to analysing the situation within the Community with regard to security of supply for oil and petroleum products and facilitate the coordination and implementation of measures in that field.

2. The Coordination Group shall be made up of representatives of the Member States. It shall be chaired by the Commission. Representative bodies from the sector concerned may take part in the work of the Coordination Group at the invitation of the Commission.

Article 18 U.K. Reviews of emergency preparedness and stockholding

1. The Commission may, in coordination with Member States, carry out reviews to verify their emergency preparedness and, if considered appropriate by the Commission, related stockholding. When preparing for such reviews, the Commission shall take into account efforts undertaken by other institutions and international organisations and consult the Coordination Group.

2. The Coordination Group may agree on the participation of authorised agents and representatives of other Member States in the reviews. Designated national officials of the reviewed Member State may accompany the persons performing the review. Within 1 week following the announcement of a review referred to in paragraph 1, any Member State concerned that has not provided the Commission with sensitive data relating to the location of stocks pursuant Articles 6 and 9 shall place this information at the disposal of the Commission’s employees or authorised agents.

3. Member States shall ensure that their authorities and those responsible for maintaining and managing emergency and specific stocks agree to inspections and provide assistance to the persons authorised by the Commission to perform those reviews. Member States shall in particular ensure that these persons are granted the right to consult all documents and registers relating to the stocks and have right of access to all sites on which stocks are held and to all related documents.

4. The outcome of reviews carried out pursuant to this Article shall be notified to the Member State reviewed and may be forwarded to the Coordination Group.

5. Member States and the Commission shall ensure that officials, agents and other persons working under Commission supervision and members of the Coordination Group may not disclose any information which has been gathered or exchanged pursuant to this Article and which, by its nature, is covered by professional secrecy, such as the identity of the owners of stocks.

6. The objectives of the reviews referred to in paragraph 1 may not include the processing of personal data. Any personal data found or uncovered during those reviews may not be gathered or taken into consideration and, if gathered accidentally, shall be destroyed immediately.

7. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that all data, records, summaries and documents relating to emergency stocks and specific stocks are kept for a period of at least 5 years.

Article 19 U.K. Protection of individuals with regard to the processing of data

This Directive is without prejudice to, and in no way affects, the level of protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data under the provisions of Community and national law and, in particular, does not alter Member States' obligations with regard to the processing of personal data, as laid down by Directive 95/46/EC, or the obligations incumbent upon Community institutions and bodies under Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 with regard to the processing of personal data by them in the course of their duties.

Article 20 U.K. Emergency procedures

1. Member States shall ensure that they have procedures in place and take such measures as may be necessary, in order to enable their competent authorities to release quickly, effectively and transparently some or all of their emergency stocks and specific stocks in the event of a major supply disruption, and to impose general or specific restrictions on consumption in line with the estimated shortages, inter alia, by allocating petroleum products to certain groups of users on a priority basis.

2. Member States shall at all times have contingency plans to be implemented in the event of a major supply disruption and shall provide for organisational measures to be taken to allow those plans to be implemented. Upon request, Member States shall inform the Commission of their contingency plans and the corresponding organisational arrangements.

3. In the event of an effective international decision to release stocks affecting one or more Member States:

(a) the Member States concerned may use their emergency stocks and specific stocks to fulfil their international obligations under that decision. Any Member State so doing shall notify the Commission immediately, so that the Commission can call a meeting of the Coordination Group or consult its members by electronic means to assess, in particular, the impact of that release;

(b) the Commission should recommend to Member States to release some or all of their emergency stocks and specific stocks or to take other measures of equivalent effect as considered appropriate. The Commission may act only after consulting the Coordination Group.

4. In the absence of an effective international decision to release stocks but when difficulties arise in the supply of crude oil or petroleum products to the Community or to a Member State, the Commission shall inform the IEA where applicable, and coordinate with it as appropriate, and arrange a consultation of the Coordination Group as soon as possible, either at the request of a Member State or on its own initiative. When a consultation of the Coordination Group is requested by a Member State, it shall be arranged within 4 days of the request at most, unless the Member State agrees to a longer period. On the basis of the results of the examination of the situation by the Coordination Group, the Commission shall determine whether a major supply disruption has occurred.

If a major supply disruption is deemed to have occurred, the Commission shall authorise the release of some or all of the quantities of emergency stocks and specific stocks that have been put forward for that purpose by the Member States concerned.

5. Member States may release emergency and specific stocks below the compulsory minimum level set by this Directive in amounts immediately necessary for an initial response in cases of particular urgency or in order to meet local crises. In the event of such release, Member States shall inform the Commission immediately of the amount released. The Commission shall transmit this information to the members of the Coordination Group.

6. Where paragraphs 3, 4 or 5 are applied, Member States may temporarily hold stocks at levels lower than those stipulated in this Directive. In that case, the Commission shall determine, on the basis of the results of the consultation of the Coordination Group and, where applicable, in coordination with the IEA, and notably by taking into account the situation on the international oil and petroleum products markets, a reasonable time frame within which Member States must bring their stocks back up to the minimum required levels.

7. Decisions taken by the Commission by virtue of this Article shall be without prejudice to any other international obligations on the Member States concerned.

Article 21 U.K. Penalties

Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of the national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive and shall take such measures as may be necessary to ensure that they are applied. Such penalties shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. The Member States shall notify those provisions to the Commission by 31 December 2012 and shall notify it without delay of any subsequent amendment affecting them.

Article 22 U.K. Review

By 31 December 2015, the Commission shall review the functioning and implementation of this Directive.

Article 23 U.K. Committee procedure

1. The Commission shall be assisted by a Committee.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply.

Article 24 U.K. Repeal

Directive 73/238/EEC, Directive 2006/67/EC and Decision 68/416/EEC are hereby repealed with effect from 31 December 2012.

References to the repealed Directives and to the repealed Decision shall be construed as references to this Directive.

Article 25 U.K. Transposition

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 31 December 2012.

By derogation from the first subparagraph, Member States that are not members of the IEA by 31 December 2012 and cover their inland consumption of petroleum products fully by imports shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Article 3(1) of this Directive by 31 December 2014. Until those Member States have brought into force such measures, they shall maintain oil stocks corresponding to 81 days of average daily net imports.

When Member States adopt measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such a reference shall be laid down by the Member States.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Article 26 U.K. Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 27 U.K. Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.