Berlin is shaping its aid plan and plans to stop using gas from March, despite its reluctance to adopt this measure at European level
The German government is currently working to shape its government support package to alleviate the impact of rising energy prices on businesses and homes. Berlin announced Monday that this €200,000 million fund will serve to pay a monthly bill for household and small business energy consumption through extraordinary aid that will arrive before December. In addition, the German authorities plan to limit gas prices from March.
The State calculates that the payment to households and companies will cost approximately 5,000 million euros. However, this measure raises doubts among the authorities, who are trying to find a formula to protect consumers and in turn encourage energy savings. Another 91,000 million euros will be used to limit the price of gas, with a ceiling that would be around 60 or 80% of current costs.
At the European level, the German plan caused blisters. Brussels accused Berlin of playing alone and warned of the dangers of fragmentation that these kinds of national measures can entail. The other member states also expressed their dissatisfaction, as Germany is not publicly defending the European gas ceiling and its position is delaying the adoption of emergency measures. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz apologized by assuring that such a mechanism should be coordinated with Japan and Canada, but others, such as Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, are already talking of “ending German selfishness”.
Negotiations at the European Union (EU) level have stalled since September and the lack of progress has raised fears that they will have to wait until November to reach an agreement, according to official European sources. Discussions will continue on Tuesday and Wednesday during the informal Energy Council, with the European Commission expected to present a new package of emergency measures next week. However, with the leaders’ summit coming up on October 20 and 21, the Twenty-seven probably won’t have enough time to reach an agreement.
Several leaders have already expressed their dismay at the European Commission’s slowness and lack of detail in the roadmap it presented on October 5. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo expressed his “impatience” on his arrival at the informal summit in Prague, assuring that only “two or three” of the European countries are “unconvinced” to step up.
However, European legislation requires that sensitive decisions – including in the areas of security, energy and foreign policy – be taken unanimously.
Meanwhile, Brussels continues to defend the need to take “common measures” and has proposed emergency mechanisms, such as a limit on gas used to generate electricity and decoupling the price of gas from that of electricity. The Community Executive also wants to promote the joint gas purchasing platform, which will allow the continent to pool demand and have more power to set the purchase price.
In this way, Europe was able to negotiate the price of gas with trusted suppliers such as Norway, the United States and Algeria. Official European sources recognize that efforts will now focus on moving forward on this point and that reaching a limit on all gas imports will take longer.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
