The Czech Republic, which holds this semester’s presidency of the European Union, is calling an emergency meeting of energy ministers on September 9 in Brussels with the aim of reaching an agreement to deal with rising energy prices, Czech Industry Minister Jozef Sikela said on Monday.
The emergency session will consider proposals such as imposing a ceiling on the price of natural gas used to generate electricity or other interventions to prevent market malfunctions, G. Sikela added.
“What is happening is really a pan-European problem, it has an impact on all the countries of the continent – some less and some more. And that is why we are convinced that the best solution is a pan-European solution,” he said.
For her part, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a speech in Slovenia that “rising electricity prices are currently exposing, for different reasons, the limitations of the current design of the electricity market”.
“It developed under completely different conditions and completely different purposes. That is why we are now working for an urgent intervention and a structural reform of the electricity market,” he added.
The details of the EU’s emergency intervention are still being worked out and according to officials the Commission will be able to propose an information plan perhaps within the week.
As Reuters points out, the Czech Republic is seeking to find support for measures such as imposing a ceiling on the prices of natural gas used to generate electricity.
Something that appears to be gaining more and more support, with Austrian Chancellor Karl Neuhammer now backing the adoption of a pan-European measure amid a “frenzy” in energy markets, although his government has previously appeared skeptical on the issue
Earlier today, after all, it was known that Belgium is also in favor of establishing price caps in the European Union’s natural gas and electricity hubs, as well as suspending negotiations in case of “irrational market behavior”, according to a note cited by the Reuters.
“If price caps are imposed on the natural gas market, price caps on the electricity market must also be revised,” added the memo, which outlines the Belgian government’s stance ahead of talks between EU energy ministers. .
Belgium is also calling for the suspension of wholesale trading if necessary and a review of pricing, which currently translates high gas prices into more expensive electricity, even for that produced from nuclear or renewable sources.
As Bloomberg notes, EU states have already committed some 280 billion euros to energy, with measures such as tax breaks and subsidies, to limit the impact of rising energy prices on business consumers, but that aid is at risk. to be underscored by the size of the crisis.
Governments have also started to cut energy use, to meet the EU’s voluntary target of reducing gas demand by 15%.
On Saturday, Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre De Croix warned that the EU cannot continue to solve the problem of soaring energy costs by cutting taxes and called for a cap instead. If the EU fails to reach an agreement, Belgium will consider taking measures at the national level, he said.
Source: Capital
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