European ministers will meet in Luxembourg on Monday 19 June for the ‘Energy’ Council, chaired by the Swedish Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Industry, Ebba Busch, and attended by the European Commissioner responsible for the dossier, Kadri Simson. The aim of this last ‘Energy’ Council under the Swedish Presidency is to define the Council’s position (‘general approach’) on the proposal to reform the electricity market (see EUROPE 13196/4, 13141/1), with a view to starting negotiations with the European Parliament shortly (see EUROPE 13182/7).
“I am convinced that we will find a way to achieve a qualified majority. It remains to be seen how it will be composed and what will be the content of the final EMD (Energy Market Design). We’re working on it”, said a European diplomat.
While several sources within the Council of the EU have indeed indicated that they are confident about the outcome of the negotiations between the ministers, points of debate remain, particularly concerning a key measure of the reform, namely the arrangements for redistributing revenue from two-way contracts for differences (CfD) and capping revenue in times of crisis (see EUROPE 13190/7).
Capacity mechanisms
In a final version of the Council Presidency’s proposal, the Member States’ representatives to the EU were invited to discuss the possibility for generating capacity that emits more than 550 g of CO2 from fossil fuels per kWh of electricity (and that began commercial production before 4 July 2019) to receive, under certain conditions, payments or payment commitments under a capacity mechanism approved by the Commission.
By exceeding the CO2 emissions limit set by the EU, the legislation would make it possible to grant subsidies under capacity mechanisms to high-emission energy production units such as coal-fired power stations. This would therefore allow countries like Poland - for which 70% of electricity production depends on coal - to extend its programme of subsidies for coal-fired power stations.
A European diplomat added that it was difficult, within this context, to predict whether “the transition period for certain energy production facilities, granted under specific and strict conditions”, would be included in the final agreement or not. “That is the subject of negotiations, which will continue on Monday”.
Other points
While the reform of the electricity market is the main item on the ministers’ agenda, the Commission will also brief them on recent developments in external energy relations and discuss preparations for the coming winter.
With regard to nuclear energy, Lithuania will provide information on safety and transparency issues relating to the launch of the second nuclear production unit at the Belarusian Ostravets power plant, while Cyprus will brief the ministers on the construction of a nuclear power plant in Turkey.
Finally, the future Spanish Presidency will present its work programme and priorities for the coming months.
To see the provisional agenda: https://aeur.eu/f/7k4 (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)