Liquefied natural gas has played a key role in replacing gas imports from Russia in the European market, and shippers have successfully taken advantage of global LNG market mechanisms to deliver significant additional volumes of gas at a time of shortage, participants at the "Workshop on Unlocking the Untapped Potential of LNG in Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans" organized by the Energy Community Secretariat noted. The participants agreed that the LNG market is working well and has helped Europe to overcome the energy crisis caused by Russia. The workshop noted that the parties need to be prepared for different scenarios, including the efficient allocation and management of terminal capacity to respond to market needs and to ensure that terminals improve market access and competition. Another important aspect of the discussions focused on expanding the capacities of the Vertical Corridor to transport the required gas volumes. Representatives from Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova reiterated their interest in increasing the capacity of the Vertical Corridor and creating a competitive tariff for the transportation of natural gas from South-East Europe to underground storage in Ukraine. This route has been used for the first time by the Republic of Moldova through the state-owned company Energocom, which has demonstrated the viability of the route and is now promoting its commercial exploitation, thus contributing to the security of gas supplies to Europe, said Nolina Pomparău, head of the Natural Gas and Fuel Products Directorate at the Energy Ministry. She added that Energocom has also imported liquefied natural gas from the United States on a trial basis, with a batch on the very first ship to dock at the new terminal in Alexandroupolis, Greece. The representative of EFET, the European Federation of Energy Traders, Pawel Lont, pointed out that with the conclusion of the contract for the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine at the end of this year, liquefied natural gas will become even more important for European countries. At the same time, forecasts point to an oversupply of LNG in the medium term, so there will be a need for new terminals, which may be developed in the near future. It also discussed the impact of the EUAgregate platform on the centralized procurement of natural gas for the 27 EU member states, as well as Moldova and Ukraine, and the future role of this platform in ensuring security of supply, diversification and energy transition.