To lower the energy bill, the European Commission is ready to arm wrestle with Putin – Le Monde

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presents her energy plan during a press conference in Brussels on September 7, 2022. VIRGINIA MAYO / AP Faced with soaring gas and electricity prices in this end of summer, Europeans want to act to protect the purchasing power of households and the competitiveness of businesses. There is no question of adding to the crisis caused by the war in Ukraine a social revolt, as France has experienced with the “yellow vests”, nor of further increasing the risks of a recession which is already looming. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Europe, United States, China: global recession alert In recent days, proposals have been pouring in from the four corners of the Old Continent and, in Brussels, the Commission has tested several scenarios. While the European energy ministers are due to meet on Friday September 9, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the community executive, presented on Wednesday the lines of work that she will submit to them on this occasion. The discussions promise to be lively, as the energy mixes vary from one country to another, but they will allow him to return in the coming days with a more elaborate proposal. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Energy: Brussels advances the first tracks On the gas front, the ex-minister of Angela Merkel recalled that the Twenty-Seven had agreed, on July 26, to reduce their consumption by 15% by March 31, 2023 in order to prepare for a winter without Russian hydrocarbons. Today, the stocks are filled to 82% of their capacity, which, says a commissioner, allows them to “cope with 2.5 months of consumption in cold winter”. At the same time, Europeans turned to new suppliers (United States, Norway, Algeria, etc.) and accelerated their use of renewable energies. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Europeans are preparing for a winter without Russian gas “Cutting income” from the Kremlin So far, they have not had to close factories or ration energy, even if Moscow drastically reduced its supplies: before the war, the European Union (EU) depended on Russian gas for 10% of its energy; today, that figure has fallen to 2.5%. But prices have soared, while Moscow “uses gas as a weapon”, insists Ursula von der Leyen. The drought this summer, which reduced hydroelectric production, and the difficulties of several nuclear power plants, particularly in France, have not helped. In this context, Ursula von der Leyen wants to cap the price of Russian gas imported by the EU and “reduce the revenues” of the Kremlin, which are used to “finance this atrocious war against Ukraine”. Vladimir Putin, on Wednesday morning, warned: if such arrangements were to be made, “we will not supply gas, oil, coal, heating oil – we will not supply anything”. The Commission has nevertheless decided to assume this risk, since the Europeans have almost succeeded, in six months, in doing without Russian hydrocarbons. You have 48.7% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.