“The price of gas has to go down,” says Rutte. “Fortunately it is already much lower, but it will have to go lower. For this we have to agree which measures will help. I will make proposals for this. There will be other proposals. It is important that the markets see that there is a shared ambition to make it happen. that this happens “.
‘Rutte offers space’
The Netherlands has always been wary of too large interventions in the free gas market. Many European countries have been advocating for more far-reaching measures, such as a maximum price or a price corridor, for weeks. “Now listen: Rutte offers space,” says political journalist Fons Lambie. For example, the Netherlands wants to talk about a form of maximum price for gas or a certain bandwidth within which the price of gas moves.
“It is very important to achieve two results: that the price of gas falls, but in such a way that the gas continues to arrive in Europe. What you have to prevent is, for example, that LNG arrives in Asia via ships.”
The Netherlands is also ready to discuss joint European gas supply. How exactly is still unclear. According to a committed diplomat, the Netherlands wants to keep the heart of the free market but dampen extreme price increases.
On Friday morning, Rutte will hold separate summits for the first time with French President Macron and German Chancellor Scholz. After that, all the leaders will speak and it should become clear what further interventions in the energy market will look like.
Grumpy in the south
“There is also grumpiness in the European discussion of the energy crisis, particularly among the southern Member States,” says Fons Lambie. “The richest countries in Northern Europe have enough money to cushion the consequences of the energy crisis. Germany is allocating 200 billion, the Netherlands with 23.5 billion. This leads to criticism from the south. Those countries have no financial strength and yes they are waiting for Germany and the Netherlands to do it. Now they are moving ”.
In addition to consultations between heads of government in Prague, Minister Jetten (Climate and Energy) is also working on proposals with his German colleague Habeck.
