10/01/2023 (Agence Europe) – Spain’s Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, said on Monday 9 January, in an interview with the Spanish television channel Antena 3, that Spain would ask the European Commission for permission to extend its system of capping on the price of fossil gas and coal used by power stations until at least the end of 2024. Approved by the Commission on 8 June 2022 (see EUROPE 12968/4), this measure consists of an exception for the Iberian Peninsula due to its low level of interconnection with the rest of the European Union. It is due to end on 31 May. For its part, Portugal had already indicated that it intended to request an extension of the mechanism, via its Prime Minister, António Costa, at the European Council of 15 December. (DG)