The French president promised on Friday “to create unanimity”, while the German chancellor expressed doubts about the method to contain the high energy prices in the European Union (EU), accentuated by the war in Ukraine.
The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, confirmed that the heads of state and government of the EU agreed to “work on measures” to contain energy prices.
French head of state Emmanuel Macron said he had worked intensively with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in bilateral discussions to advance the issue.
Macron, who will meet Scholz again next week in Paris, said “France’s role is to create unanimity between the positions.”
The measures include temporary caps on gas reference prices and solidarity rules in the EU bloc to make gas available to all member states in an emergency.
Emmanuel Macron said that the mechanisms could be implemented “at the end of October, beginning of November”. European leaders “sent a very clear signal of determination and unity to the markets,” the Frenchman added.
Germany and the Netherlands had raised questions about temporary caps on natural gas benchmark prices, warning they could hamper supply and encourage consumption.
In a concession to Germany, the mechanism must be accompanied by guarantees to “avoid any increase in gas consumption” and prevent the EU from subsidizing electricity exported to neighboring countries, including Norway, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
Scholz emphasized that the differences were in the method, not the goal. “Prices for gas, oil, coal must come down. Electricity prices must come down, and this is something that requires a joint effort from all of us in Europe,” he said.
At a press conference in Brussels, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the proposal will be discussed next week, on Tuesday, by the energy ministers of the EU member states.
But Olaf Scholz made it clear that if the energy ministers cannot agree on a final version, a new summit of heads of state will be needed.
Source: TSF
