Until a few weeks ago, possible responses to a new energy price crisis were not on the agenda for the summit of European leaders in Brussels on Thursday 19 March. They are now an integral part of a discussion on European competitiveness, in the wake of the informal Alden Biesen summit in mid-February (see EUROPE B13807A2).
As the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has pointed out on several occasions, since the Middle East conflict began on 28 February, Europe...