The heads of state and government will discuss, on Thursday 15 December, measures already taken at EU level to help vulnerable households and businesses cope with soaring energy prices.
“Energy is not, strictly speaking, on the agenda of the EU summit, but it is in the conclusions” that the EU Council will adopt, a senior diplomatic source noted on Wednesday 14 December.
Uncertainty remained on the eve of the summit as to whether EU leaders would resume detailed negotiations on setting an EU-wide cap on gas prices, following the failure of EU energy ministers on Tuesday (see EUROPE 13083/11).
Guidance from the highest political level could nevertheless contribute to a final political agreement at the EU ‘Energy’ Council on Monday 19 December.
“Let’s wait and see what happens. But the distance between those who are for and those who do not want a cap is too great”, noted a second diplomatic source.
The part on a potential cap on gas prices is not included in the draft conclusions of the European Council dated Saturday 10 December, before the ministerial meeting.
According to the paper, the EU27 will call for further work on: - joint purchase of gas; - filling of gas storage; - early preparation of contingency plans for winter 2023–2024; - swift finalisation of the negotiations on the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and - the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED).
The European Council is said to look forward to the proposal and impact assessment that the Commission will present in early 2023 on a reform of the European electricity market in the context of decarbonisation and the development of renewable energies.
Echoing the challenge posed by the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to the competitiveness of European industry (see EUROPE 13084/1), the draft conclusions underline “the need for a coordinated policy response mobilising all relevant tools at national and EU level” for the “safeguarding Europe’s economic, industrial and technological base” and of “preserving the global level playing field” as well as the “integrity” of the Single Market.
See the draft conclusions of the European Council dated 10 December: https://aeur.eu/f/4m1 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion with the editorial staff)