At the end of the meeting of European Union energy ministers, in Brussels, Duarte Cordeiro noted that “today was another important day”, adopting “a series of important decisions at European level” to adjust energy prices. including a tax on the excessive profits of fossil fuel companies, into a solidarity contribution, which he stressed “voted Portugal” and which will be transposed into the national legal system once the regulation is formally adopted.
The emergency intervention regulation, which received political approval from the 27 today, also includes a cap on the profits of companies producing electricity with low (renewable) costs, and plans to reduce electricity consumption on a voluntary basis (10% for the demand in general) and mandatory (5% in ‘peak hours’).
Duarte Cordeiro added: “There was also a discussion about limiting the gas price, and it was not possible to reach a final decision at that level, and there was a recommendation to the European Commission to come up with concrete proposals at a future meeting.”
“We can say that on our part there is a natural follow-up to all the decisions taken today, and there is great concern for the Commission to continue to work on limiting the gas price, obviously careful not to cause this restriction supply interruption,” he underlined.
“There are ways to do this, starting with the development of the joint European purchasing platform, and we have strongly recommended that this be done,” the minister continued.
Duarte Cordeiro, who had signed a letter signed by the energy ministers of 15 member states and sent to the Commission this week asking for a “ceiling” on the gas price, admitted that “there is understanding of the difficulties associated with limiting the gas price, but many countries have asked for this work to continue, in the sense of translating it into concrete proposals”.
The minister defended that it is possible to “align with the different objectives” that the EU has, namely “not endanger the security of supply, but at the same time seek, with the power that the EU has if it is organized, to determine, promote medium and long-term contracts and develop the joint procurement platform”.
With regard to the measures adopted today, the official noted that “Portugal has followed all these decisions” and recalled once again that the country was already in place “measures moving ahead with them, and with very concrete results”, namely the Iberian Mechanism to limit the price of gas in electricity production, also citing the “decision of the Portuguese government to allow consumers to return to the regulated gas tariff and thus be better protected”.
“These measures taken at the level of the electricity market confirm the Iberian mechanism that Portugal has already put in place and that has produced results – according to the latest data there was an average decrease of 18% in the price of electricity – therefore now the EU strengthens at European level its recommendation to take measures identical to those we have in the electricity market,” said the Minister of Environment and Climate Action.
“And we can say that Portugal did well when, together with Spain, it tried to make changes in the business model of the Iberian market,” he added.
With regard to the taxation of excessive profits by fossil fuel companies, and when asked how it would apply in particular in Portugal, he pointed out that, according to the regulation, “there is a reference to an indication of [uma taxa] 33% more than 20% of the average profit in recent years”, with “countries having the flexibility to build their solutions”, but having postponed decisions to a later stage.
“Portugal has other measures, which are also extraordinary contributions in the energy sector, which apply to assets in a different way. Now, having supported this measure, which will be discussed at the Parliament level, and when the regulation is completed, the Portuguese government has to adapt it to reality,” he said.
Duarte Cordeiro insisted that the transposition of this tax into the national legal system will only take place after the adoption of the regulation, which has only received political approval today, but that there should be no change in the solidarity contribution to the energy sector (CESE ), and stressed that “the European Commission recognizes the need to replace the measures already in place in the Member States that have the same effects as the measures now adopted”.
Finally, with regard to reducing electricity consumption, and on whether households will also be asked to make an effort, he believed that this would not be the case, not least because the measure is more focused on intensive consumers.
“I don’t think we will get there. We are talking about large consumers, so essentially those who represent a significant volume of consumption […] These measures need to be operationalized to have an effect, and family consumption is not something that is easily organised, I don’t think there is a mechanism to operationalize this reduction,” contrary to what happens at the level of bulk consumers, he said. , pointing out that “mechanisms already exist and others can be adopted”.
Source: DN
