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The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, proposed this Wednesday to the leaders of the European Union (EU) an intervention to limit prices in the natural gas market, also advocating joint acquisition and management at the European level.
In a letter sent to the EU Heads of Government and State, on the eve of an informal two-day summit in Prague, Ursula von der Leyen proposes a “road map with new actions” for the EU bloc to face the acute energy crisis, which from the beginning has been working “together with the Member States to develop an intervention to limit prices in the natural gas market”.
Noting that the current reference for gas, the Title Transfer Facility (TTF), “is no longer representative of imported gas”, which now also includes liquefied natural gas in addition to natural gas, the leader of the community executive reveals that “ The Commission has started work on a complementary EU price index to better reflect today’s European energy reality and ensure a better functioning market leading to lower prices.”
However, until such a measure is implemented, “it is necessary to consider a price cap in relation to the TTF in a way that continues to secure the supply of gas to Europe and all Member States and that shows that the EU is not ready to pay any price for gas”, given Europe’s dependence on imports, until now mainly from Russia, stresses Ursula von der Leyen.
Even so, “given that the EU imports almost all the gas it consumes, the deeper the public intervention on gas prices that we foresee, the greater the demand reduction and supply solidarity that we need,” he warns. Therefore, “we need to recognize the risks involved in capping gas prices and put in place the necessary safeguards and it will be necessary to prepare more stringent gas saving obligations, made possible by demand reduction auctions across the EU” . as binding agreements of solidarity between the Member States”, affirms the official.
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Given the skepticism of countries such as Germany to advance with measures such as gas price caps, given the dependence on Russian imports, Ursula von der Leyen guarantees that “the Commission will work closely with the authorities [nacionais] design a possible capacity limitation measure, taking into account national differences in the energy market”.
Looking ahead to the coming winter and at a time when there are fears of cuts in the supply of Russian gas to the EU, the official defends “measures that can cushion the price paid for our gas imports, preserving the security of supply.” , which, in his view, involve joint acquisition and management at Community level.
“The EU joint energy platform must, first of all, coordinate the joint management of filling and storage for the next filling season. We have to avoid a scenario where member states outperform each other and raise prices,” he argues.
In addition, for Ursula von der Leyen, joint purchases such as those made for the acquisition of anti-covid-19 vaccines during the pandemic could “result in greater access to new or additional gas sources in all EU Member States, avoiding costly excesses. -bidding”. and inefficient”, which could apply to ‘green’ hydrogen in the future.
The leader of the community executive also recommends that European leaders “intensify negotiations with reliable suppliers to reduce the prices of imported gas of all kinds”, specifically from Norway and the United States.
Geopolitical tensions over the war in Ukraine have affected the European energy market, especially as the EU relies on Russian fossil fuels, such as gas, and fears supply cuts this fall and winter.
Source: Observadora
