Adopting measures to counter the escalation of natural gas and electricity prices in wholesale markets is at the top of the European Union (EU) agenda. Yesterday, the Czech EU presidency announced that the European Energy Council will meet on September 9 at an extraordinary summit in Brussels to approve a European solution that protects businesses and households from the surges.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in a tweet that “high energy prices are a European problem that needs to be solved at European level”. He also added that he spoke with European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen to “find a way to help people and businesses that we can agree with Europe’s leaders”.
The Czech head of government had previously said he was rallying support for new measures to be implemented by all countries. Also on Twitter, Czech Minister of Industry and Trade, Jozef Síkela, referred to “a weekend of negotiations”, which allowed the meeting of energy ministers to be scheduled for the 9th.
Electricity market reform
The summit was convened on the same day that Ursula von der Leyen revealed during a public intervention in Slovenia that the European Commission is “working on an emergency intervention and structural reform of the electricity market”. The EC president said that “we need a new model in the electricity market that really works and brings us back into balance” because the current one, she says, “has been developed under different circumstances and no longer serves the purpose”.
The Commission has been working on a proposal to reform the electricity market for a year, an expert from the Paris Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations told AFP, but the Commission has encountered resistance from several Member States. “A year ago, only a few countries were in favor of these measures – and some were very skeptical about changing the architecture of the electricity market. That is changing,” says Nicolas Berghmans.
The leader of the European Union’s executive body yesterday reaffirmed the need to end Russia’s “blackmail” ending the EU’s energy dependence on Putin’s country. And he added that this path has already begun with the diversification of energy sources. According to von der Leyen, supplies from other regions have increased by 31 billion cubic meters since January this year. “This is now compensating for the reduction in gas supply from Russia to Europe. We are also significantly reducing our need for imported gas. As we have to prepare for a possible total disruption of Russian gas,” he said.
The President of the Commission recalled the request to Member States “to reduce gas consumption by 15% and store it for storage. This will allow us to save up to 45 billion cubic meters of natural gas”.
There are countries that have already taken measures to reduce gas consumption in the spring of next year. The Portuguese government promises to present the national savings plan later this week.
Source: DN
