As part of the fight against rising energy prices, a majority of EU Member States believe that the retail electricity market should be changed, said French Minister for the Environmental Transition Barbara Pompili on Saturday 22 January, following an informal meeting of Member States’ energy ministers.
Asked about this at a press conference, the Minister stressed that it was not a question of “throwing the baby out with the bathwater”.
“What I would like is for us to be able to recall the importance of this market - we need it to ensure solidarity between Member States for the supply of electricity - but also to learn from what we are experiencing today [...] in order to adjust this market, particularly with regard to the question of retailing”, she said.
Along with Spain, Paris was one of the first countries to call for a review of certain aspects of the European electricity market. At the beginning of December 2021, the two countries had thus presented avenues for reflection in a joint document with Italy, Greece and Romania (see EUROPE 12845/4).
According to Ms Pompili, the European Commission “has taken these issues into account, such as access for consumers to fixed prices over a longer period of time, protection against supplier default, and stricter rules on gas storage”.
A dozen other Member States, on the other hand, have expressed concerns that a revision would disrupt the proper functioning of the market (see EUROPE 12844/13).
In any case, no changes are expected before April and the publication of the European Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) report on the functioning of the electricity market.
“Everyone agrees to wait for the ACER report before going any further”, said Ms Pompili.
In anticipation of this report, ACER presented the latest developments in the European energy market to the Ministers.
Unanimous support for hydrogen
In addition to rising energy prices, the ministers also discussed the issue of hydrogen during the meeting.
According to Ms Pompili, the discussion showed unanimous support for the need to develop a European hydrogen market, taking into account the diversity of low carbon and sustainable technologies.
“We were able to note many points of agreement such as the important place of electrolysis in the long term, the need to lower the costs of renewable electricity, the interest of hydrogen for the decarbonisation of industry and heavy mobility [...] and the importance of developing capacities in Europe”, the Minister stated.
This analysis is shared by the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, who noted “a great deal of confidence around the table regarding the prospects for developing a real European hydrogen market with strong European industrial players”.
See ACER’s presentation: https://bit.ly/3H1Yfvy (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)