The energy ministers of the European Union could hold an emergency meeting to discuss the price increase in the energy markets as leaders take a more urgent tone on the ongoing crisis.
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The Czech Republic, which holds the rotating EU presidency, is considering calling a meeting to discuss the idea of limiting electricity prices, Industry Minister Jozef Sikela was quoted as saying by CTK.
He added that the Czechs would be in favor of an EU-wide price cap, but did not elaborate on possible new measures.
Europe is grappling with worst energy crisis in decadeswith rising gas and electricity costs fueling inflation and threatening to drag economies into recession.
Energy prices in Europe have soared in recent weeks with Russian gas supply cuts in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“If you have a European market and a Europe-wide problem, then the simplest approach is to look for a Europe-wide solution,” Sikela said. “We have to see if this situation continues and escalates further.”
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If you have a European market and a Europe-wide problem, then the simplest approach is to look for a Europe-wide solution.
Referring to the possible ministerial meeting, French government spokesman Olivier Veran told reporters on Wednesday that France “in general” is aligned with EU energy policies. But he stressed that does not necessarily mean that Paris will endorse the “logic” of a European cap on energy prices.
France’s situation is different from other European countries thanks to government measures that have offered the country better protection against inflation, Veran said.
Inflection point
French President Emmanuel Macron, in remarks at the start of a cabinet meeting last Wednesday, said he believes “we are in the process of experiencing a turning point or radical change.”
He referred to the pressures on public finances, “the end of the abundance of goods and technology that seemed always available”.
“Our freedom, the system of freedom that we have become accustomed to living in, has a cost,” Macron said. “And sometimes when we need to defend it, it can mean making sacrifices.”
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Emmanuel Macron, President of France.
Macron will travel later this week to Algeria, a former French colony and one of the world’s biggest gas producers. But his visit is expected to focus more on repairing relations than replacing gas imports from Russia, according to French officials close to the president.
Record in the price of energy
Meanwhile, the price of natural gas exceeded 300 euros the equivalent of a megawatt hour (MWh) on Wednesday, a level not reached since the historical record registered at the beginning of March (345 euros), at the beginning of the Russian invasion from Ukraine.
At 3:50 p.m. GMT, the Dutch TTF forward contract, a benchmark for the European natural gas market, was trading at 300.165 euros per MWh equivalent. A few minutes later, it passed slightly below 300 euros.
This price has been driven for several sessions by the announcement of a complete suspension of Russian gas supply through Nord Stream 1 for a period of three days, from August 31 to September 2. “It is necessary to carry out its maintenance every 1,000 hours” of operation, the giant of the
Russian gas Gazprom in a statement announcing the temporary closure of the gas pipeline.
After this period, the flow of 33 million cubic meters per day of
gas, according to Gazprom. But Europeans are bracing for a difficult winter due to gas shortages from Russia, whose invasion of Ukraine six months ago has turned the global energy market upside down.
Since the beginning of the year, the price of the TTF has skyrocketed and multiplied by four (+315%).
BLOOMBERG and AFP
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