THE Ursula von der Leyen stated today that the issue of high energy prices is serious and added that it is of the utmost importance for the EU to invest in renewable energy sources in the long run in order to avoid future increases.
“I think we need to be very clear that gas prices are skyrocketing. “But in renewable energy sources, prices have fallen in recent years and remain stable,” the European Commission president told reporters ahead of the EU-Western Balkans summit in Slovenia, according to AMPE.
“So for us it is absolutely clear that in the long run with energy it is important to invest in renewable sources that offer us stable prices and more independence, because the “90% of natural gas is imported into the EU,” he added.
EU: There are enough gas reserves for the winter, says the Energy Commissioner
The member states of the European Union have enough gas reserves for the winter, but the spike in prices shows the need for a rapid shift to renewable energy and EU gas market reform, EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simpson said today.
“Underground gas reserves are over 75% across Europe. “This level is lower than the ten-year average, but sufficient to meet the winter seasonal needs,” he told the European Parliament.
Speaking on a debate about the spike in gas prices that has hit the EU’s poorest citizens, is affecting corporate investment decisions and threatening to slow economic recovery, Simpson said she would soon present a plan to restructure the gas market.
“By the end of the year, I will propose a reform of the gas market, and in this context we will review issues related to storage and security of supply,” the commissioner said, according to AMPE.
The idea proposed by Spain
One of the ideas proposed by Spain is for the EU to jointly buy gas in order to harness the power of the single market of 450 million consumers and to create strategic EU gas reserves. Simpson said joint procurement and storage is worth to be analyzed.
He said that while the long-term response to higher gas prices is to increase production from renewable energy sources, in the short term EU governments can provide targeted support to consumers through direct payments to those most at risk of energy poverty, reducing taxes on energy. and shift charges to general taxation.
To help citizens, governments can use some of the money from selling coal licenses under the Emissions Trading Scheme, he said. At the same time, competition authorities need to curb speculation in energy markets, he added.
THE The Commission will present a list of measures next week complying with EU law.
“Europe must respond quickly with coordinated action at Member State level, harnessing the power of its single market and increasing its preparedness for future crises,” Simpson said. “We have to answer together.”
“We must also continue to take into account the importance of its geopolitical energy and develop a more strategic approach to foreign energy policy,” he said.
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