by Kate Abnett
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – A dozen countries, including Belgium, Italy, Poland and Slovenia, have pushed to “significantly” lower the European Union’s planned cap on gas prices, as the EU is struggling to find an agreement on this measure.
Union countries are holding emergency negotiations on Saturday to try to reach an agreement on a gas price cap at a meeting of their energy ministers on December 13, but states remain divided on the project.
Twelve of the EU’s 27 member states have circulated a document calling for the price cap to be “significantly” lower than the countries’ latest negotiated compromise.
“The text did not go far enough towards what we could consider a satisfactory compromise,” they said.
The document, seen by Reuters, was submitted by Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia.
EU countries have been discussing the need to cap gas prices for months, but have so far failed to reconcile their views. Some diplomats doubt a deal can be struck next week and point out that countries unhappy with the latest proposal have enough support to prevent its passage.
Gas prices in Europe have soared this year after Russia cut gas supplies following its invasion of Ukraine, pushing up fuel costs and fueling inflation.
But while pro-cap countries say the measure would protect their economies from high energy costs, Germany – Europe’s biggest economy and largest gas market – and the Netherlands have opposed the cap. a cap on gas prices, warning that it could disrupt the normal functioning of energy markets and deter producers from supplying Europe.
The latest country-reviewed draft proposal, seen by Reuters, provides for the cap to be triggered if prices rise above 220 euros per megawatt-hour for five days on the one-month contract on the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) platform and s they are 35 euros higher than a reference price for liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The cap is lower than the 275 euros/MWh limit proposed by the European Commission, but the 12 countries said it was not yet low enough.
(French version Benjamin Mallet)