Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
EU ministers clash on energy policies
As prices keep rising, lawmakers find hands tied by political, legal factors
European Union energy ministers clashed at an emergency meeting over how to cushion consumers and companies from soaring power and natural gas prices, with political and legal constraints leaving little room for immediate action.
At an emergency meeting in Luxembourg on Tuesday, the ministers discussed how the EU could complement measures already taken by member states and what could be done in the medium term to prevent future price shocks.
Countries including Poland and Spain called for the EU to come up with new intervention tools, but a group of nine nations including Austria, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands argued that the price spike is temporary and should not lead to quick changes to the bloc’s energy laws and ambitious climate reforms.
“I don’t think we should place too high expectations on EU-level measures because we can’t influence the world prices of coal and gas and oil,” Germany’s Deputy Economy Minister Andreas Feicht told the meeting. “We don’t think we should go for overly hasty measures, which would actually lead to higher prices in the longer term or could actually undermine our climate objectives.”
The unprecedented energy crisis has become one of the hottest issues as the 27-nation bloc heads into the winter season, with households facing doubledigit increases in electricity bills and some industrial giants curtailing production.
The main reason behind the sharp spike is increased global demand for energy, and gas in particular. According to EU officials, gas prices in Europe have increased by more than 170% since the start of the year.
Tuesday’s gathering follows a discussion last week about the crisis at a summit with EU leaders, who brushed off calls by some countries for quick fixes to the bloc’s laws and the Green Deal strategy to make the economy sustainable.
Most countries have already cut taxes or approved subsidies to help households and companies, and there are few remaining tools that are technically possible and politically palatable.
Luxembourg, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia and the Netherlands said transparent and competitive markets are what guarantee better prices for users. They called for the deployment of renewable energy sources and “further interconnection.”
Meanwhile, Spain is pushing for changing the way wholesale electricity prices are calculated, while France — which derives about 70% of its electricity from nuclear energy — has called for decoupling electricity and natural gas prices. The French argue that the influence of gas in setting wholesale electricity prices is disproportionate.
Spain also has proposed setting up a joint program for obtaining gas reserves, but the idea has not gained much support so far. Europe depends heavily on imported gas, mainly from Russia.