Consumers who cannot pay their energy bills should not be able to cut off supplies”, MEPs agreed in a text approved yesterday, which will be voted on today in the plenary session in Strasbourg. to absorb the consequences of this crisis, which according to many experts, in addition to high inflation, could be accompanied by a new recession and more unemployment.
The same paper argues that there is still a need to study and take further steps until an agreement is reached on a new tax regime for extraordinary profits that may exist by companies in the energy market, but that if this mechanism generates revenues , it must be reversed in favor of the most vulnerable families and businesses.
MEPs in general are in favor of the new tax on extraordinary profits, but also say in the text that some large companies “may not have to pay” this new contribution. Many argue that certain companies are already overextended for profits and have been paying extraordinary fees for several years now. This case has been going on in Portugal since the time of the Troika.
During the session that took place in Strasbourg, MEPs “also stressed the need to avoid evictions for vulnerable families unable to pay their bills and the cost of renting the house”. This position reinforces that “consumers should be better protected against the suspension or termination of their flat-rate contracts by suppliers, as well as against exorbitant prepayments for gas and electricity,” the EP said in a statement.
Energy stress tests
The President of the European Commission also spoke in Strasbourg yesterday, opening the debate on the escalation of the Russian war against Ukraine and its latest implications. After what has happened to the banking sector over the past decade, Ursula von de Leyen announced that Europe will conduct stress tests to identify “weaknesses” in energy and communications infrastructure.
“The sabotage actions against the Nord Stream pipelines have shown how vulnerable our energy infrastructures are,” said von der Leyen. “For the first time in recent history, they have been targeted,” he added. The same goes for gas pipelines and submarine cables. “They are data and energy pipelines, so it is in the interest of all Europeans to better protect these critical infrastructures,” defended the leader of the European executive.
In Strasbourg. The journalist traveled at the invitation of the European Parliament
Source: DN
