The European Commission has presented new proposals to curb high energy prices in a bid to break months of deadlock between EU countries. An EU summit will take place in Brussels on Thursday and Friday. The heads of government of all countries must then agree on the plans.

If the EU Commission has its way, the EU countries will buy gas together. There must also be a different target price for liquefied natural gas (LNG). The Commission also wants a better safety net in case the crisis deepens and households and hospitals run out of energy, for example.

The EU has already taken action against high energy prices in the past. According to Commission President von der Leyen, the federal states are now well prepared for next winter. The gas supplies are standard. So now is the time to take further steps towards what she calls an Energy Union.

Last summer, EU countries pushed up gas prices by bidding against each other to fill up their gas supplies. The Commission intends to prevent this from the new bottling season in spring by purchasing together. In any case, 15 percent of the European gas supply must be bought together.

The high price for pipeline gas is now also determining the price for LNG, said von der Leyen. The Commission wants to decouple this from next spring. Until the new target price for LNG is available, a price cap for gas may have to be introduced. Under what conditions is still unclear.

The countries have been arguing about such a maximum price for gas for months. A majority of the EU, including member states such as Italy, France and Belgium, believe that such a maximum price is necessary. Germany and the Netherlands have so far opposed it.

Among other things, they fear that cheaper gas will lead to more consumption, which will lead to bottlenecks. They also worry that natural gas producers will sell more gas to Asia if countries there are willing to pay a higher price.

solidarity

In an emergency, countries should be obliged to share energy, the Commission wants. A model agreement is being drawn up for this purpose, which the countries must already sign.

The Commission also wants to give money from the EU budget to countries taking energy measures. This applies, for example, to investments in renewable energies. 40 billion euros are available for this.

Exorbitantly high energy prices are largely related to Europe’s dependence on Russian gas. Russia has sharply reduced its gas supplies to Europe in recent months in retaliation for European aid to Ukraine.