Prime Minister António Costa said on Friday that he was “excited” by the European Council held in Brussels on the energy crisis, because of the “in a good way” discussion on future measures to be adopted in the European Union (EU) , to support families and businesses.
“After seven years, the level of expectation I set at each European Council meeting has been properly calibrated, [mas] I am leaving this European Council with enthusiasm because, having reaffirmed that there is no new money, I also saw the possibility of re-using existing funds for possible support, in the framework of the REPowerEU energy package or in the recovery and resilience mechanism , said Antonio Costa .
Speaking to Portuguese journalists in Brussels, the prime minister emphasized that these kinds of solutions were “accepted even by leaders who normally resist a lot”.
“If [essas verbas] can be mobilized only for investment or also to soften the price that families and companies pay, this is a point on which there is still no consensus,” said António Costa.
On Thursday, the first day of the European Council, EU heads of government and heads of state agreed to work on measures to curb high energy prices exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.
“Because it was not yet final”, the debate was moving “in the right direction” thanks to efforts to “meet the needs of all Member States”, António Costa noted.
Pointing out that “the most difficult debate” has focused precisely on these kinds of measures to illuminate future ones, the head of government spoke of a discussion “which took place in a hurried and even constructive way” to promote “solidarity and common response” in the EU.
It is now up to the European Commission to present a proposal with “all possible hypotheses with European and national instruments”, to move forward with such help.
The European summit took place at a time of high prices in the energy sector and this winter there are fears of a cut in Russian gas supplies to the EU.
One of the issues discussed at this European Council, but not yet proposed, was how to support businesses and households in the face of the current energy crisis, and the Portuguese Prime Minister has already come to defend that the EU about 200 billion euros of common debt already issued but not yet issued, of which a part of 12 billion euros goes to Portugal.
After hours of discussions between the 27, European leaders reached an agreement this morning to work on issues such as temporary limits on reference prices for gas and solidarity rules in the community bloc to make gas available to all member states in the event of an emergency.
The first concerns a temporary market correction mechanism to limit the volatility of prices in one day through a dynamic price cap for transactions on the main European gas exchange.
In the second case, Brussels wants to introduce solidarity rules in the EU to make gas available to all member states in case of emergency, such as a cut in Russia’s supply, so that countries can access the reserves of others.
More favorable was the discussion on joint gas purchases, with the support of European heads of government and heads of state for the creation of legal instruments for such joint purchases, similar to those for anti-covid-19 vaccines, but only in the spring of 2023.
The city council will now make concrete proposals on these matters, as well as for a structural reform of the electricity market and a review of the regulations regarding the licensing of renewable energy.
Brussels proposal to reallocate cohesion funds “is not a solution”, says Costa
The Prime Minister, António Costa, said the European Commission’s proposal to reallocate unused cohesion funds, totaling €40 billion, to deal with the energy crisis is “a non-solution”.
“The Commission has authorized the reprogramming, in the context of our Portugal 2020, of the reprogramming of cohesion funds for mechanisms to support families and businesses”, but in the case of Portugal “the level of commitments already made […] do not allow this reprogramming,” said the head of government.
The prime minister emphasized that this is “a non-solution” for Portugal.
“I admit it could be useful for other countries, but I very much doubt it,” he stressed, given the level of implementation of such community funds.
António Costa explained that this redistribution of cohesion funds “would involve sacrificing projects” that are already under development.
The European summit took place at a time of high prices in the energy sector and this winter there are fears of a cut in Russian gas supplies to the EU.
And that happened just days after the European Commission presented a new package of proposals on Tuesday to tackle the energy crisis.
The executive immediately proposed to allocate unused cohesion funds, totaling €40 billion, to member states and regions to address the current energy crisis.
The proposal proposes “increased flexibility” in the use of unused cohesion funds in the EU’s 2014-2020 financial framework, so that they can be targeted to “the challenges arising from the current energy crisis”.
The idea is to redirect up to 10% of Member States’ allocations to cohesion funds in the EU budget for 2014-2020 towards measures to mitigate the impact of the energy crisis, such as support for small and medium-sized enterprises, businesses (SMEs) , vulnerable families or even job protection programs.
To cope with the rise in energy prices, Brussels wants to make available a maximum of 10% of the Member States’ allocations, which amounts to about € 40 billion.
One of the issues discussed at this European Council, but not yet proposed, was how to support businesses and households in the face of the current energy crisis, and the Portuguese Prime Minister has already come to defend that the EU about 200 billion euros of common debt already issued but not yet issued, of which a part of 12 billion euros goes to Portugal.
According to António Costa, these funds would make it possible to “create a new margin” and give “rest” to companies and families, without thus “sacrificing planned investments”, because this “slows down the energy transition”.
‘We will always miss Mario Draghi so much’
António Costa said the European Council “will always miss Mario Draghi greatly” after what was the last European summit of Italy’s outgoing prime minister, who was “enormous added value” to the discussions.
“We will always miss Mario Draghi greatly, not just for this discussion [sobre apoios orçamentais]as for all other discussions as we could count […] with the contribution of someone with a unique experience, a unique ability, an extraordinary education and who in recent years has been a huge asset to the European Council and who the European Council will unfortunately lose at this point”, said the head of the Portuguese government.
Speaking to Portuguese journalists in Brussels at the end of a European Council devoted to the EU’s response to the energy crisis, António Costa argued that Mario Draghi was “particularly important” in this debate.
“He remembers well how Europe reacted badly to the sovereign debt crisis and he also remembers how the European Union… [UE] responded well to the covid-19 crisis and therefore his experience and memory were particularly useful in these debates,” said António Costa.
Italy’s outgoing Prime Minister Mario Draghi said goodbye to the European Council in Brussels on Friday, recalling his “long journey” in EU politics, marked by several crises, and received “warm applause” from other European leaders.
“Thank you for this warm applause and for this farewell, thank you for the efforts on this long journey,” said Mario Draghi, speaking on the second day of the European summit, in a meeting that the European Commission believes will take place behind closed doors. sources.
In what was his last European Council, following Giorgia Meloni’s victory in the elections at the end of September, the outgoing Italian Prime Minister confirmed that he is leaving office after a “long journey” during which he “had the privilege of being inspired, helped, supported by all” current leaders and their predecessors, according to European sources.
The same sources also pointed to the “long applause” from government leaders and heads of state for the outgoing Italian prime minister.
The former ECB president resigns as head of the Italian government at a time when the EU is facing a sharp energy crisis and high inflation levels, situations exacerbated by the war in Ukraine triggered by the Russian invasion, after the previous 2011 financial crisis led the central bank of the single currency and was seen as the man who “saved the euro”.
The former ECB president has been leading a government of national unity in Italy since February 2021, backed by all the major parties in the country except the Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, led by his predictable successor, Giorgia Meloni.
Giorgia Meloni, who won parliamentary elections on September 25, will rule with the right-wing and far-right coalition – with Matteo Salvini’s Liga and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia – which has a majority in the new parliament.
Source: DN
