Kathimerini Greece Newsroom
The European Commission is now moving towards a temporary cap on gas prices and a common supply of energy products, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a speech to the European Parliament on Wednesday morning.
The German politician stressed the need for a level playing field in the internal energy market and to ensure a common energy supply for the entire European Union. This is a similar move to the one in 2020 for the common supply of coronavirus vaccines for all 27 member states.
"We have reduced gas consumption in the European Union by 10%. This is good, but not enough," -von der Leyen
"After the winter we will refill our reservoirs and if we find that again in the global market one EU member state is trying to outbid the other, sending energy prices soaring, we should have a common supply, this cannot continue," he said.
Ms von der Leyen stressed that a cap should be imposed on the supply prices of gas used to generate electricity. This should be done, she suggested, on a temporary basis until a new benchmark for the fuel is established, again for the whole Union.
She also pointed to Brussels' intention for more advanced consultations with reliable energy suppliers, as countries such as Norway are described.
She also said that the services in Brussels have already started preparing for a temporary cap on the price of gas in order to ensure the optimal functioning of the market.
"We need to limit the inflationary impact of the rise in gas prices on electricity prices. That is why we propose to impose a cap on the price of gas for electricity generation, which will be the first step in structural reform of our own electricity market," she explained.
At the same time, the Commission president stressed that European Union countries should strengthen the protection of critical infrastructure by carrying out stress tests and using satellite surveillance to identify potential threats.
"The acts of sabotage against the Nord Stream pipelines have shown how vulnerable our energy infrastructure is. It is in the interest of all Europeans to better protect this critical infrastructure," she underlined.
"We have reduced gas consumption in the European Union by 10%. This is good, but not enough," Ms von der Leyen added.
"Gas storage is close to 90% now, which is 15 percentage points higher than last year," she said.
[This article was translated from its Greek original]
