Extraordinary meeting of EU ministers: They agreed on THIS solution! The representatives are to prepare further measures – Topky.sk

On capping the prices of gas imported from Russia, as proposed by the EC, but the ministers did not find an agreement. Mainly Central European countries, including the Czech Republic, opposed this proposal. At the initiative of the Czech presidency, the ministers met at a time when anti-government protests are threatening in many European countries due to high electricity prices, which are also influenced by the instability of Russian gas supplies. According to Síkel, the states unanimously agreed that it is necessary to immediately prepare crisis measures that would help endangered consumers and companies. Archive VIDEO The agreement that electricity will remain at today’s prices will be respected, says Sulík “The discussion about interventions in the energy market has been going on here for months and maybe years, and today for the first time a large part of the member states agreed on what kind of interventions they want and in what way Síkela told Czech journalists. Next week, the commission should prepare details of the plan, according to which companies producing electricity from cheaper sources than gas will contribute to vulnerable households and companies parts of their previously high profits to cover energy bills. The solidarity contribution should also concern fossil fuel producers. The ministers also agreed on the possibility of introducing a ceiling on gas prices, but according to Síkel, it is not yet clear which part of the market this measure would cover and how exactly it will be set. “We have to be careful not to jeopardize the security of our supplies,” Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said after the negotiations, referring to new contracts for the purchase of liquefied natural gas that could be thwarted by the price cap. Archived VIDEO Sulík informed that as of today, Slovakia has gas pipeline connections with all neighboring states. The commission’s intention was to cap only the prices of gas heading to the EU from Russia. However, according to Síkel, this plan did not receive the support of a large number of states, because Russian gas no longer plays such a large role in the formation of energy prices when supplies are limited. Central European countries in particular, including Germany, Hungary and the Czech Republic, were concerned that Moscow could completely shut off gas in the event of price restrictions. Another of the steps that received the support of the ministers was the granting of guarantees for the deposits that energy companies must make when offering long-term contracts for the sale of electricity. According to Síkel, it is realistic that this measure will stimulate the electricity market and reduce its prices. The plan of mandatory electricity savings in the busiest hours should also contribute to this, which should reduce the share of expensive gas in its production. According to the minister, the Czech presidency is ready to convene another extraordinary ministerial meeting in September to debate the detailed proposals that the European Commission will present next week. The result of the meeting of energy ministers is a success of the Czech presidency The result of today’s meeting of the energy ministers of the European Union countries is a success of the Czech presidency, Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) said today in Mikulov ČTK. According to him, this is a big shift. The ministers agreed that they want to use the unexpected profits of energy producers from cheaper sources to help consumers, but they did not agree on capping the price of gas from Russia. According to the first vice-president of ÁNO and former Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček, the ministers did not agree on anything. The separation of gas from electricity did not pass, which, according to him, will not allow energy prices to decrease. It’s a big move “It’s a big move and a success for the Czech presidency. The commission is supposed to prepare a solution for capping gas, which is used for the production of electricity. We didn’t push for a cap on Russian gas prices,” said ČTK Fiala. He added that this is precisely the measure that should reduce the price of energy. “Then there is the reduction of the price of electricity from non-gas sources, and the reduction of guarantees should also contribute to the reduction of prices, that is, to stir up the energy market. I am convinced that these are the right measures and I consider today’s negotiations a success,” added the Prime Minister . Photo gallery (2) Jozef Síkela
Source: Profimedia “At the beginning of next week, the Czech government will follow up on this negotiation and present a proposal for a Czech solution that will lead to capping energy prices,” added Fiala in another statement to ČTK. The Together and Pirates Cabinet will meet on Monday at 5:00 p.m. “It is as expected. They did not agree on anything. The separation of gas from electricity did not pass, which will not allow energy prices to decrease,” said Havlíček. According to him, the variant of reducing the profits of producers and the subsequent saturation of the socially weaker is nothing new. “Slovakia has been dealing with this since February. As expected, Germany implemented its model, which suits green ambitions and solutions at the national level. But we fell asleep there,” added Havlíček. At the initiative of the Czech presidency, the ministers met at a time when anti-government protests are threatening in many European countries due to high electricity prices, which are also influenced by the instability of Russian gas supplies. According to the Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela (for STAN), the states unanimously agreed that it is necessary to immediately prepare crisis measures that would help endangered consumers and companies. Next week, the commission should prepare details of the plan, according to which companies producing electricity from cheaper sources than gas will contribute to vulnerable households and companies parts of their previously high profits to cover energy bills. The solidarity contribution should also concern fossil fuel producers. Analysts’ opinions on today’s agreement of the EU energy ministers are different Analysts’ opinions on today’s agreement of the European Union’s energy ministers are different. According to some, this is the right step, according to others, it is the inaction of the EU and the failure to advance the negotiations. But they agreed that not setting a maximum price for gas is a good decision. Analysts told ČTK today. The states of the European Union propose to use the windfall of energy producers from cheaper sources to help consumers. This was announced by the Czech Minister of Industry and Trade, Jozef Síkela, who chaired the meeting, after an extraordinary meeting of EU ministers responsible for energy. The representatives of the governments entrusted the European Commission (EC) with the preparation of other measures, including EU-wide energy savings or the setting of a gas price ceiling. On capping the prices of gas imported from Russia, as proposed by the EC, but the ministers did not find an agreement. Mainly Central European countries, including the Czech Republic, opposed this proposal. “It is, of course, correct to use the funds obtained in this way. Unfortunately, the possible time discrepancy is impractical – the income from such a tax will arrive in March 2023 at the earliest, and as we can see from the example of Italy, the collection can be much lower. Those affected need help now,” said an analyst of the Capita portal to ČTK. com Radim Dohnal. Dohnal agrees that no ceiling has been set for gas prices. “Currently, this would actually mean a ban on gas imports from Russia and possibly other countries, and in addition possible permits for imports to friendly countries Serbia and Hungary. This would be more off target, or back on track,” said Dohnal. According to him, the only correct solution is a price ceiling on the price of electricity throughout the EU. However, according to him, every measure needs to be supplemented with a requirement, regulation or recommendation to reduce consumption and save electricity and gas. According to XTB analyst Jiří Tyleček, today’s meeting of EU energy ministers did not advance the solution to the energy crisis too much. “Although the ministers agreed on the need to cap the profits of energy companies that produce electricity with sources other than gas, it does not seem that this would be a uniform pan-European solution. We also did not see the approval of specific coordinated austerity measures. Once again, we are witnessing the inaction of the EU rather than clear , quick and targeted measures,” said Tyleček. But he also admits that the proposal to determine the maximum price of gas from Russia did not pass, because this step could further reduce the flow of gas to Europe outside the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.