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This Thursday and tomorrow a European summit on energy issues is being held in Brussels. The war in Ukraine and the sanctions imposed on Russia have caused oil, gas and electricity prices to soar. Since February, interests have diverged and each country defends its energy mix. At the beginning of the month, in Prague, an exceptional summit had made it possible to clear the ground. But with winter approaching, there is an urgent need to go further.
with our special correspondent Juliette Gheerbrant and our correspondent in Brussels, Pierre Benazet
According to the European Commission, the imperative is now for the 27 to behave in the face of energy with the same solidarity as in the face of Covid. For its president Ursula Von der Leyen, it would be necessary, like what was done for vaccines, to carry out group purchases of gas, but the 27 criticize the Commission for the lack of ambition of these proposals.
The energy mix of each country remains the major stumbling block, some are still heavily coal-fired like Poland, some have favored electricity like France, others finally have an industry that runs mainly on gas like Germany . We saw it again yesterday, the postponement of the Franco-German Council of Ministers testifies to the ongoing tensions, so much so that Emmanuel Macron displayed this Thursday as a priority on his arrival in Brussels the preservation of friendship and the Franco-German alliance.
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Since prague council Admittedly, the European Commission has proposed some measures such as allowing joint purchases of gas. At the state level but also in the private sector. Then revise the gas exchange index, and cap transactions to limit prices. And the Commission is also proposing to redirect 40 billion from the cohesion fund to households and businesses to deal with soaring energy prices.
Another track, a solution defended by France, the extension of the “Iberian model” to lower the price of electricity. Like Spain and Portugal, the 27 would subsidize the price of gas to enable their electricity operators to produce electricity at a lower cost. But Germany in particular does not want to hear anything. Among the questions raised by critics of this solution, how much does it cost and how is the mechanism financed; how to prevent it leading to an increase in consumption and therefore a tension in the market? And how to avoid that electricity subsidized by the European Union then goes back to third countries like the United Kingdom or Norway, which also sells its gas at a very high price to the 27?
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A very technical and complicated subject, but the 27 must keep one thing in mind: bills are skyrocketing – in some countries like Italy they are exploding and concern is growing, European citizens and voters are waiting for concrete and rapid help.