The 27 heads of state or government of the EU Member States will again address the energy crisis at an informal EU summit in Prague on 6-7 October. In particular, they will call on the European Commission to “propose workable solutions to reduce prices through the gas prices cap”, says a draft of the conclusions obtained by EUROPE on Monday 3 October.
The introduction of a gas price cap and the modalities surrounding this mechanism continue to divide the Member States, which failed to reach a clear orientation on this issue at the end of the last meeting of energy ministers on Friday 30 September (see EUROPE 13033/2).
The ball is now in the Commission’s court, but it will not present a legislative proposal until it knows the position of the EU27.
“There will be a summit on Friday to discuss energy among other topics so we will hear from the leaders, we will continue our exchanges with governments after last week Energy Council and then we will take rapidly the measure of this and we are going to put new proposals on the table thereafter”, said a spokeswoman for the institution on Monday.
In addition to the capping issue, the draft conclusions call on the Commission to develop a more representative benchmark than the Dutch TTF for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and to accelerate work to ensure the proper functioning of financial markets and to limit excessive price volatility.
According to the document, the leaders will also stress the need to redouble efforts to “look for mutually beneficial partnerships” with the Union’s partners, including through the EU energy platform, in order to secure lower import prices, while ensuring security of energy supply.
“In addition to tackling immediate term challenges, we need to discuss at our next meeting in October the necessary next steps for achieving a full Energy Union serving our objective of European energy sovereignty and climate neutrality”, the document also says.
Condemnation of Russian actions
At their informal summit, leaders are expected to address the situation in Ukraine and warn that “Russia’s latest escalation endangers European peace and security”.
They will reiterate their firm rejection and “unequivocal” condemnation of Russia’s illegal annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson (see EUROPE 13033/13).
“Russia’s unilateral decisions are contrary to the UN Charter and blatantly disregard the rules-based international order. They cannot and do not give Russia a legitimate basis for any further action on the territory of Ukraine”, the EU27 will warn. The latter will clarify that Ukraine has the right to liberate the occupied territories within its internationally recognised borders.
While Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to use “all means” to defend his country’s territorial integrity, now including the four annexed regions, leaders will make clear that they see Moscow’s threats “as a further escalation of the conflict”. “But we will not be deterred in our determination to support Ukraine”, they will stress, adding that they would continue to provide financial, political and military support to Ukraine and to step up humanitarian and winter preparedness interventions.
See the draft statement: https://aeur.eu/f/3dj (Original version in French by Damien Genicot and Camille-Cerise Gessant)