The European Commission (EC) intends to recommend to the European Union (EU) member states to set a price cap in case Russia interrupts the supply of natural gas, according to a draft document received by the agency DPA.
“One option would be to limit price formation in such a devastating scenario by setting price caps on European gas exchanges,” the document could be presented to Member States next week.
The document also states that funding such measures, even for a short time, could require “significant” resources and create some problems. “Care must be taken to ensure that the introduction of such a price cap does not reduce the EU’s access to gas and LNG (liquefied natural gas) supplies,” the authors emphasized.
The stalemate over setting a temporary price cap was already evident at the EU summit in March. In the end, Spain and Portugal were granted the exclusive right to introduce such an “Iberian” price cap.
Meanwhile, countries such as Germany and the Netherlands continue to oppose greater free market intervention.
The German Ministry of Economics declined to comment on unpublished EC documents on Saturday.
However, it is clear that price developments at both economic and end-user levels need to be carefully analyzed and monitored at European level, the ministry said.
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