BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union energy ministers, meeting in Brussels on Friday to outline a strategy to deal with the impact of the war in Ukraine, agreed to a temporary cap on the price of gas and the creation of a “solidarity contribution” applied to the oil, gas and coal sectors.
According to a draft final press release consulted by Reuters, the 27 are also in favor of a device aimed at capping the income of producers of electricity from nuclear and renewable energies.
They also advocate support for energy suppliers who need cash.
On the other hand, they did not agree on a specific cap on the price of Russian gas, as proposed by Brussels, the draft press release shows.
All of these measures, which also aim to control electricity consumption within the EU, must be applicable by mid-September, ask the ministers.
Friday’s emergency meeting aimed to discuss the proposals made on Wednesday upstream by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in order to ensure the security of supplies in Europe.
The latter is due to speak out again on the energy crisis in her third State of the Union address on September 14, and further informal meetings of energy ministers are scheduled for October.
The objective is to find common ground on emergency measures to “prepare for winter”, protect households from soaring prices and maintain the proper functioning of the energy market.
The reform of the electricity market that the Europeans are now calling for would take place in a second phase, probably in the first half of 2023.
European gas stocks currently stand at 95% on average. In France, stocks are at more than 94%, according to the Ministry of Energy Transition.
Regarding the “solidarity contribution”, “the concept is on the table but not its precise execution and there are still many questions to be discussed with the Commission, to first determine what kind of contribution this would be” , says the French Ministry of Energy Transition.
“If it were to be fiscal, which is not in the texts submitted for the moment, it would be the responsibility of the Member States and subject to the rule of unanimity, so it would be complex to put in place” , we note.
(Brussels office, with the contribution of Benjamin Mallet in Paris, French version Nicolas Delame and Sophie Louet)
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