According to the provisional agenda for the upcoming extraordinary meeting of EU energy ministers in Brussels on Thursday 24 November, the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union intends to reach an agreement among Member States on the European Commission’s latest proposals to mitigate rising energy prices.
These emergency measures consist of two proposals for Council regulations.
The first, presented on 18 October, includes several initiatives: - the development of an alternative European index to the Dutch TTF for liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices; - the creation of a market correction mechanism whereby the Commission could propose to establish a maximum dynamic price for natural gas transactions on the spot market; - the introduction of new rules to stimulate joint gas purchasing; - the capping of intraday price peaks; - the establishment of energy solidarity mechanisms between Member States in the absence of bilateral agreements (see EUROPE 13045/1).
In order to reach an agreement, the Czech Presidency transmitted a second draft compromise to the national delegations on Tuesday 8 November. Compared to its previous version (see EUROPE 13056/2), the document includes clarifications concerning the provisions on solidarity between Member States in relation to gas supply. It sets out, for example, that the compensation for the Member State providing solidarity should include not only the gas price in that Member State and the storage and transport costs, but also possible costs resulting from the deviation of LNG cargoes, potential litigation costs for related judicial or arbitration proceedings involving the Member State providing solidarity and other indirect costs that are not covered by the price for gas.
Prague also invites the delegations to provide guidance on the next steps regarding the articles on the market correction mechanism, as well as the article on the gas capacity allocation mechanism in the event of gas supply emergencies.
The second proposal for a Council regulation, presented on 9 November, aims to boost the deployment of renewable energy in the EU by speeding up and facilitating the permit-granting procedures necessary for its installation (see EUROPE 13060/7).
Charles Michel calls for new proposals
These proposals are nevertheless considered insufficient by some Member States such as Belgium, France, Italy and Spain, as well as by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.
“We need legislative proposals. You can criticise the energy ministers for not acting fast enough, but in order for them to act and take decisions, we need legislative proposals”, he said during a debate in the European Parliament in the presence of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday 9 November.
He pointed out that the European Council had given the Commission a mandate to do so (see EUROPE 13047/1), and that he was now awaiting “a proposal for a temporary cap on the price of gas for electricity generation, supported by a cost-benefit analysis”.
He also emphasised: “‘Too little too late’ cannot be an option”.
According to several sources, the Commission intends to send Member States a new non-paper on the gas price cap before the meeting of Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) on Friday 11 November.
See the Czech Presidency’s draft compromise: https://aeur.eu/f/40b (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)