BRUSSELS – With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine causing a serious energy crisis in Europe, the European Commission said on Wednesday it would require countries to agree to a broad ceiling on the price of Russian gas. Russia. It is also proposing measures such as mandatory cuts in electricity use, taxes on oil and gas companies and taxes on the price of electricity generated by renewables.
The moves, outlined by the Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, set the stage for a period of intense and urgent debate within the European Union to quickly resolve the unprecedented energy crisis. is sweeping the region as Russia cuts off natural gas supplies. many EU member states, sending gas and its associated electricity markets into a strong spiral.
Russia turned gas faucets on and off to punish European countries, mainly Germany, for supporting Ukraine, blaming widespread disruptions on technical and maintenance problems.
EU energy ministers will meet on Friday in Brussels to debate the bloc’s proposals. European governments from Germany to Greece are spending billions of euros a month subsidizing the electricity bills of consumers and businesses, in some cases five times as much as a year. last.
Electricity price management is not only an economic and social goal but also a political imperative in Europe. With the memory of the “yellow vest” protests in France over energy prices still fresh, and new movements emerging to denounce the rise in the cost of living and in some cases, continue to advocate Ukraine resists Russian aggression, European politicians have little choice but to take unorthodox and costly measures to appease outraged consumers.
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“We are facing an unusual situation because Russia is an unreliable supplier and is manipulating our energy markets,” von der Leyen said in a statement on Wednesday.
She added that the bloc’s natural gas storage facilities are 82 percent full, and that Russia’s gas imports have fallen from 40 percent of the bloc’s total gas to just 9%. Thirteen of the 27 members of the European Union are facing partial or complete shutdowns of Russian gas, with the greatest impact being in Germany, the bloc’s largest economy and dependent on Russia. most on Russian gas so far.
Russian President Vladimir V. Putin defiantly faced the threat of a price cap, calling it another example of “foolishness.”
“All administrative restrictions in global trade only lead to imbalances and higher prices,” he said Wednesday at an economic news conference in the city of Vladivostok, Russia’s far east.
In her speech on Wednesday, Ms von der Leyen said there was an urgent need for governments to intervene in gas and electricity markets – a concept on which most EU countries agree, despite disagreements over best way to do that.
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“We are dealing with astronomical electricity prices for households and companies and with great market volatility,” she said.
In July, the Commission secured support for a voluntary 15% reduction in energy use by the following summer; On Wednesday, Ms. von der Leyen said she would propose mandatory cuts to electricity use during peak hours.
Since the European electricity market links the price of electricity to the price of the most expensive fuel used to generate it – for the time being, gas – Ms. von der Leyen also said she would ask EU countries to levy an efficiency tax. results from companies generating electricity from sources other than gas.
Following the model already adopted in Greece, Ms. von der Leyen said governments should use these funds to “support vulnerable people and adaptive companies”.
She also suggested that oil and gas companies, which are making huge profits, should contribute a “unity contribution” and that governments should be able to subsidize national utility companies. are facing large input costs to continue producing electricity.
Ivan Nechepurenko contribution report.
