Laura Van Leberghe
After long discussions which ended late at night from Thursday to Friday, the 27 countries that form the European Union have reached an agreement to curb the rise in energy prices, which is weighing on Europeans. Many measures that they will have to gradually refine.
The leaders of the Twenty-Seven agreed, on the night of Thursday to Friday, to “work on measures” intended to stem the rise in energy prices, announced the President of the European Council Charles Michel. “Unity and solidarity prevail. Agreement to work on measures to contain energy prices for households and businesses”, he tweeted, without giving details, in particular on the sensitive issue of a possible price cap. What do the agreements concluded by the Twenty-Seven say? The measure that will have a real impact on citizens’ bills is the establishment of a dynamic price corridor. A kind of non-fixed and temporary price cap for transactions on the wholesale gas market.
The state pays the difference?
Another consensus: the generalization of a mechanism already practiced in Spain and Portugal. The so-called Iberian model consists of lowering electricity prices if those of gas do not fall sufficiently. In this scenario, the state pays the difference between what the supplier pays to the producer and what the customer pays to the supplier. A concession is given to Germany by lowering prices, because citizens must not be encouraged to consume more, but to find a balance. So here, it’s just a roadmap. The European Commission will have to submit concrete decisions and the European energy ministers will have to decide.