EU leaders: This winter, everyone has to deal with the rise in electricity and gas prices

But long-term measures would be thought of quickly

The European Commission and the Council of the EU should swiftly discuss affordable energy measures for households and companies. This was announced by the EU leaders after hours of talks at the European Council in Brussels on Thursday, Politico writes.

Despite the call after the meeting, which was also attended by President Rumen Radev, the leaders of the 27 member states reluctantly acknowledged that, at least in the short term, the rise in prices is a matter for national governments to manage on their own – mainly through tax cuts. fees and by offering subsidies to citizens in need. Yes

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However, leaders called for swift consideration of medium- and long-term measures to increase the resilience of the energy system in the common energy market, provide security of supply and support the transition to climate neutrality. They also want the European Commission to study the functioning of the energy and gas market, as well as the emissions trading system, and then assess whether certain trade practices do not need additional regulations.

Long-term measures are more controversial, with countries divided over what action the EU needs to take to prevent future price spikes, experts say.

Even before the 107th summit, the last for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, she called for a sensible approach to the debate on rising energy costs. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in turn, said that because the bloc imports 90% of its gas – much of it from Russia – “it makes us vulnerable.” He

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Czech Prime Minister Andrei Babis called on his colleagues to abandon the idea that they could one day end their dependence on Russia as a major supplier of natural gas.

“Forget about becoming independent of Russia, that will never happen,” Babish said, according to a diplomat familiar with the conversation.

The Czech prime minister added that some EU countries had made a mistake in criticizing Germany’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline with Russia, and said Hungary was in a relatively better position than many other countries thanks to a 15-year deal with Moscow. .

At the insistence of Poland, Spain and the Czech Republic, a passage was included in the summit declaration stating that the EU should check whether there is a need for regulation against certain trade practices in the trade of CO2 (carbon dioxide) certificates. The reason for this is the suspicion that speculators are raising the price of CO2 even more.

The European Council also did not agree on the inclusion of nuclear energy in development opportunities in the green transition. The Council’s conclusions note that the European Investment Bank needs to explore investment opportunities in the green transition in order to meet Europe’s climate ambitions.

On Friday, European leaders discussed migration and digital transformation. The European Council will keep the situation under control and return to its discussion in December.

France froze prices for a year

France will freeze gas prices for households until the end of next year, Prime Minister Jean Castex was quoted as saying by Reuters. In addition, the French government will give 100 euros each to citizens who earn less than 2,000 euros a month after taxes to help them cope with rising energy and fuel prices.

“Approximately 38 million people will benefit from this money, including the unemployed and pensioners,” said Jean Castex.

At the same time, the Moldovan government approved a 30-day state of emergency in order to remove regulatory restrictions on gas purchases and speed up alternative supplies. According to Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilitsa, this is necessary because gas supplies in October are only up to 67 percent due to a lack of a contract with Russia.

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