“I am not worried about winter but with the government I am determined to provide the right answers on the strategic question of the price of energy”, reacted Bruno Le Maire this Friday morning on Europe 1. Faced with inflation ever more important, the Minister of the Economy wanted to recall his priorities: the price and availability of energy in France and in Europe. At the microphone of Dimitri Pavlenko, he described the question of the price as an “absolute urgency”. “France was able to anticipate soaring prices and put in place an energy shield, at a cost of nearly 100 billion euros over three years.”
A European agreement to lower prices
According to the minister, France reacted early, which enabled it to have the lowest inflation in the entire euro zone and to protect the French against the surge in the price of gas and electricity. “If we had not taken these measures, the bills would increase by 180 euros for electricity and 200 euros per month for gas in January. There, it will only be 15%”, specifies Bruno Le Maire .
But to prevent prices from rising even more, the Minister reminds us that it is necessary to act at European level. In a column he signed for the newspaper The echoes with his German counterpart, he announced an agreement with Germany to limit price increases. The two powers have agreed to decouple the price of gas and electricity and have lower prices.
“For the first time, Germany recognizes that the absolute priority is first of all to bring down market prices, which are soaring in a completely delirious way, with speculative movements which are unbearable for our fellow citizens and unbearable for businesses,” said the minister. “The European Commission urgently needs to make concrete proposals in the coming days to bring prices down,” he added.
Simplify the business aid system
The second message from the platform is based on the European system of business aid, deemed “too complicated” by Bruno Le Maire.
“The European Commission also needs to simplify the aid system because you have a lot of energy companies today who cannot even apply it. Many companies that consume a lot of energy, who cannot have the aid to which they would nevertheless be entitled, because the criteria are too complicated. They must be simplified, they will be in October”, he specifies.