The heads of state and government of European Union countries will again discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its energy and economic implications for the EU on Thursday 20 and Friday 21 October, two weeks after the informal summit in Prague (see EUROPE 13038/1, 13038/2).
Aware of Russia’s use of energy as a weapon against the EU, European leaders will say they are determined to “mitigate” the impact on citizens and businesses, with priority given to the most vulnerable groups, while preserving Europe’s competitiveness and a level playing field in the internal market.
“All relevant tools at national and EU level should be mobilised to enhance the resilience of our economies”, the EU27 is expected to say, according to draft conclusions dated 11 October which EUROPE has seen a copy of. They are also expected to advocate close coordination of national responses “while remaining ready to develop common European-level solutions, as needed”.
Energy. In the face of the urgent need to tackle high energy prices, the draft conclusions stress the need to accelerate negotiations with reliable partners in order to “seek mutually beneficial partnerships that ensure security of supply and lead to lower import prices for the European Union”. This should be done by “making full use of the Union’s collective political and market weight”, the text says.
Other measures highlighted include coordinating efforts to prepare for the next gas stock filling season and developing a new gas price benchmark more representative of market conditions.
While the draft conclusions also mention the issue of addressing liquidity and excessive volatility in energy markets and the possibility of “temporary market intervention” (e.g. through capping gas prices), these two points in the text will need to be finalised by the time of the summit.
Regarding longer-term measures, the European Council should invite the European Commission to “work swiftly on the structural reform of the electricity market”, as well as to move towards “a full Energy Union serving the dual objective of European energy sovereignty and climate neutrality”.
Member States will also be called upon to strengthen their cooperation on critical infrastructure protection, following the incidents on the Nord Stream I and II gas pipelines and now the Druzhba oil pipeline, in particular by applying the new European standards in advance (see EUROPE 13040/7).
Aid to Ukraine. On the armed aggression in Ukraine, the European Council is expected to strongly condemn Russia’s recent indiscriminate firing of missiles against civilians in Kyiv and across Ukraine (see EUROPE 13040/13). It should call on the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and the Commission to “explore options so that a fair and effective trial against perpetrators can be ensured”.
The EU27 will reiterate their political, military, humanitarian and financial support to Ukraine, “including for its liquidity needs”. The leaders should therefore call for the rapid adoption of macrofinancial assistance of up to €3 billion and advocate using the full potential of the single market to support the Ukrainian economy (see EUROPE 13022/19). They will also support the extension of the UN initiative facilitating Ukrainian agricultural exports. The governance and financing of Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts, including the conditions attached to aid, should also be discussed ahead of the conference in Berlin on 25 October.
Finally, the European Council could welcome the agreement on the deployment of an EU military advisory mission (see EUROPE 13029/19). This mission has not yet been agreed, but may be at the Foreign Affairs Council on 17 October in Luxembourg.
See the European Council’s draft conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/3kf (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion, Damien Genicot, Camille-Cerise Gessant)