Energy prices must come down. That was already the EU's goal before the US and Israel's war in Iran. But now the pressure has increased to a level where EU leaders will have to make decisions when they gather for an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday. This is what EU President António Costa says.
The announcement comes in an interview with European Newsroom (ENR). It is a collaboration between European news agencies, of which Ritzau is a part.
- The crisis in the Middle East is a dramatic and challenging moment for the international rules-based order, and it has a major impact on energy prices. We therefore call on the EU Commission to present a toolbox of temporary and targeted initiatives that can bring prices down, says António Costa.
He expects the EU Commission to present the initiatives before Thursday's EU summit in Brussels.
This paves the way for Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S) and the leaders of the other EU countries to set out a direction on Thursday for how citizens and businesses should be helped to cope with the high prices of energy.
- We will make decisions at the summit, says António Costa.
However, he will not reveal which initiatives are specifically on the way.
Draft reveals several possible measures
A draft of conclusions from the EU summit, which Ritzau has seen, indicates that the EU Commission will be tasked with examining "all components of the wholesale and retail prices of electricity". Against this background, the Commission must "as soon as possible" present proposals for concrete measures that can lower electricity prices "in the short term".
At the same time, the draft proposes that the EU's greenhouse gas emissions trading system be tightened. This should help to ensure that the so-called ETS (Emissions Trading System) does not unnecessarily push up electricity prices. According to the draft, the EU Commission must also present a review of the challenges with the ETS "no later than July 2026".
At the same time, the draft calls on EU countries and the EU Parliament to adopt an "ambitious" package that will increase the interconnection of Europe's energy networks. In addition, the draft calls on member states and the EU Commission to accelerate the completion of the EU's energy union. However, the draft conclusions may still be amended before Thursday's summit.
Dan Jørgensen: Price crisis not supply crisis
On Monday, the EU's Danish Commissioner for Energy and Housing, Dan Jørgensen, stated that Europe is in a "price crisis" when it comes to energy. But it is not a "supply crisis". And according to Dan Jørgensen, this reduces the need for far-reaching interventions.
- We are in a much better situation in the EU now than we were in 2022 (when Russia invaded Ukraine, ed.).
- This is because we have more renewable energy now. And we have diversified our supply in general, says Dan Jørgensen.
However, the high prices for gas in particular mean that the EU must look at "targeted initiatives" that can work in the short term, says Dan Jørgensen.
Nor did Dan Jørgensen want to go into detail about which initiatives are in question.
/ritzau/
Text, graphics, images, sound, and other content on this website are protected under copyright law. DK Medier reserves all rights to the content, including the right to exploit the content for the purpose of text and data mining, cf. Section 11b of the Copyright Act and Article 4 of the DSM Directive.
Customers with IP agreements/major customer agreements may only share Danish Offshore Industry articles internally for the purpose of handling specific cases. Sharing in connection with specific cases refers to journaling, archiving, or similar uses.
Customers with a personal subscription/login may not share Danish Offshore Industry articles with individuals who do not themselves have a personal subscription to Danish Offshore Industry.
Any deviation from the above requires written consent from DK Medier.
