Following the failure of Tuesday’s Energy Council, Heads of State and Government believe deadlines cannot be extended further, but do not specify how to reach the desired consensus on a common maximum price
The Heads of State and Government of the European Union (EU) issued an ultimatum this Thursday evening to energy ministers so that they will conclude an agreement next Monday to set a ceiling on the price of gas imports in times of crisis, a temporary mechanism whose The deal is also conditional on unlocking the EU’s Joint Gas Procurement Initiative.
The European Council agreed on a mandate calling on EU energy holders to reach an agreement on Monday to end the cap on gas prices in the European market after their latest attempt failed at Tuesday’s extraordinary meeting.
While the technical disagreements that blocked the attempt to approach positions remain, the heads of state agree that the discussion “must end on Monday”, a clear reference to the deadline that European Council President Charles Michel described as unprecedented. has considered. in the conclusions of this type of summit.
The activation price is now the main stumbling block separating the Twenty-seven into two blocks. One is led by Spain, which rejects a high price threshold, and the other is led by Germany and the Netherlands, who are concerned about jeopardizing security of supply if suppliers migrate to other more attractive markets if it is lowered too much. the top
In Spain’s view, the latest proposal, which sets the ceiling at EUR 200 per megawatt hour (MWh), continues to set a “very high” and unaffordable price and calls for the introduction of a dynamic reference to prevent the escalation of prices in the European market, something that clashes with the German and Dutch reserves, with whom they have to close the gap in the next four days.
“I am sure that we will find a good result at the meeting of ministers on Monday,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at a press conference at the end of the summit, who was “optimistic” and stressed that there was and “significant progress in the EU’s response to high energy prices.
However, Scholz has recalled fears of the mechanism’s impact on security of supply or market stability, and has argued for the limit to have a value “high enough that I hope it never” gets triggered.
The countries are also calling for the closure of the other two regulations that have majority consensus but are on hold because a group of countries, including Spain, refuse to give a green light until the correction mechanism is resolved.
Leaders refer to the standard to “improve solidarity through better coordination of gas purchases, in particular through the EU energy platform, cross-border gas exchanges and reliable price reference indices”, as well as regulations that create a framework to support the roll-out of renewable energy accelerate energy.
They have also called for a “quick” end to discussions on the European Renewable Energy Directive, which will determine what type of resources Europe considers green and which the Commission promised to present before the end of the year.
The president of the government, Pedro Sánchez, confirmed that the measure is “closer than ever” and has argued that if it were reached at the meeting of European energy ministers on the 19th, it would be a “political success” for its executive, as it was the first to raise in Brussels the need to address joint gas purchases or intervene in the electricity market.
“To think there would be a limit on the gas price a few weeks ago seemed unthinkable, but now after the talks we are closer than ever,” the executive leader said at a post-summit press conference with his European counterparts.
For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the agreement on the political direction and called on energy ministers to “finalize” the agreement on the cap on gas prices, a measure he considers “essential to be completed before the end of the year to approve”.
The Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Petr Fiala, who ends the six-month EU presidency in December, defended that the negotiations have taken “a very long time” due to the “highly technical” nature of the mechanism being negotiated, but stressed that “they’re all on top of the deadline and ready to commit.”
Source: La Verdad
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
