October 7, 2022 18:09
European Union leaders seek in the Czech capital, Prague, on Friday, to overcome divisions and unify the response on how to deal with high energy prices.
Most of the EU countries demand Brussels to propose a ceiling for gas prices, but the details are the focus of the dispute, as some capitals seek to set a comprehensive ceiling for all gas trade transactions and import contracts, while others prefer to set a ceiling for the electricity sector only.
“Now is the time to discuss how we can put an end to high energy prices,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters.
“This is how the discussion will be about setting a price ceiling, about its level and how to set it,” she added.
Setting a ceiling on gas prices is one of a set of proposals and initiatives submitted by European countries to coexist with the decline in gas supplies from Russia, which was providing 40 percent of Europe’s needs, as well as the huge rise in prices. Although gas prices have fallen from their peak this year, they are still more than two hundred percent higher than they were at the beginning of September last year.
More than half of the European Union has pressured the bloc to set a ceiling for the price of gas. But Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands oppose caps on prices, fearing that it would hinder the purchase of gas their economies need and reduce the impact of any incentive to cut consumption.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala spoke specifically of capping the price of gas used to produce electricity, while his Latvian counterpart Krisjans Karins said the cap would be “great” if the bloc could guarantee supplies from producers.
Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel warned that the EU should be careful not to undermine its standing in world markets by keeping sellers away from it by imposing an unattractive ceiling, because “maybe (at the time) we will have a price ceiling but we don’t have the capacity.” .
European Council President Charles Michel, who is chairing the summit, said no decisions were expected on Friday, but he hoped discussions between leaders would lead to an agreement when they next meet on October 20-21.
Source: agencies
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