The heads of state and government of the EU will once again find themselves in Brussels to debate the energy bill of their fellow citizens.
by
The first time that Europeans exchanged on the increase in energy prices was a year ago. Russia had not yet invaded Ukraine or Sabre in its gas deliveries for twenty-seven, but post-Cavid-19 growth had created inflationary tensions. At the time, already, the discussion had been lively, while the countries of the South, Spain and Portugal in mind, worried about the consequences of a priced prices that was just beginning.
Thursday, October 20, European Heads of State and Government will meet again in Brussels to debate it and their exchanges promise to be muscular, as economic and social issues are considerable. The commission presented, Tuesday, October 18, new proposals in the energy field, but these do not attack the question of the energy bill of their fellow citizens.
Until now, the twenty-seven have been able to respond to the first challenge posed by the war in Ukraine: to be able, this winter, to do without Russian gas. They reduced their gas consumption (by 15 %) and undertook to decrease that of electricity (5 % during peak hours). They completed their reserves over 92 % and increased their purchases from other suppliers, such as Norway or the United States.
On the other hand, the subject of gas and electricity prices, which are linked, remains whole. As the business organization Busineseurope repeated, in a statement on October 17, the current situation could lead to “the closure of thousands of companies” which cannot face their energy bills and the “relocation” of whole sections of European industry.
Fill in gas reserves for winter 2023-2024
Faced with rampant inflation and the recession that is announced, many heads of state and government fear a social sling which would have as a corollary a lesser support from public opinion to Ukraine, an increasing dispute of Objectives to combat global warming and a rise in populisms. “If there is no solution, it will end with people on the street, the weakening of the economy, bankruptcies and less popular support for climate policies and helping Ukraine. This winter will be decisive “, on October 12, the Czech Minister of Industry, Jozef Sikela.
European governments have all adopted national plans to help the most vulnerable households and businesses but this costly solution cannot be viable in the long term. Above all, they do not all have the same means as Germany, which decided to devote 200 billion euros to this purpose. And these purely national solutions can be dramatic, in the long term, for the integrity of the internal market.
You have 61.87% of this article to read. The continuation is reserved for subscribers.