Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

EU backs one emergency energy plan. Now for the next one

EU backs one emergency energy plan. Now for the next one

The message from this week’s EU energy ministers’ crisis summit? Get used to EU energy ministers holding crisis summits.

The energy emergency gripping Europe will be a long haul — and next winter could be even worse.

Ministers meeting in Brussels on Friday secured a deal on the bloc’s latest package of relief measures. It's one they hope will help to protect households and businesses from cripplingly high energy bills and the specter of power outages this winter caused by Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine and his squeeze on Europe’s gas supply.

By any previous standards, the plans are radical. But the European energy emergency has made what was once unthinkable, unavoidable.

Countries will ration electricity by 5 percent at peak hours this winter, on top of previous commitments to bring down gas usage. They also signed up to tax energy company windfall profits to the tune of €140 billion. This will be spent supporting households and businesses over the winter.

Before the ink was dry on the agreement, the discussion among ministers immediately shifted to how much further the bloc needs to go.

“We need to do more,” Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said after the summit — already the third emergency meeting since July.

She pledged that a new “EU-level market intervention” to curb gas prices would be part of the next set of measures. Precisely what form that will take is now subject to an increasingly fraught debate within the bloc. It is an argument that looks set to drag, even as the nights lengthen and temperatures fall.

Before Friday’s meeting, a group of 15 countries had written to the Commission calling for "EU-level market intervention" in the form a bloc-wide cap on the price of all imported gas. They were left frustrated by the response: an informal policy note that left no room for a meaningful progress on the issue at Friday's summit.

Simson said that the Commission would work with countries ahead of next week’s informal EU leaders' summit in Prague to “develop” ideas of what the next intervention should look like. Possibilities including an EU-wide limit on the price of gas used for generating electricity; negotiations on lower prices with friendly country gas suppliers like Norway and Algeria; and capping the price of gas imports from Russia alone.

Jozef Síkela, the Czech Republic’s industry and trade minister, who chaired the summit, said he was ready to call "as many extraordinary councils as are needed in order to implement the necessary legislative acts as soon as possible.”

The next interventions in the gas market must, he said, “decrease the price of gas without motivating too high consumption. There is still a threat that there won’t be enough gas this or next winter.”

After this week’s sometimes fractious discussions over the price cap, another key priority will be to maintain EU unity.

Some countries pushing for a bloc-wide cap on gas imports were taken aback when Germany, which is resisting the measure, announced on Thursday a huge €200 billion package to shield its own households and businesses from rising gas prices.

“Just Germany can afford such a thing,” said one EU diplomat. Italy went public with its concerns.

Síkela, seemingly reading the mood among countries, pointedly highlighted the importance of unity in comments ahead of Friday’s summit.

“I expect unity and solidarity,” he said, when asked about countries such as Germany. “We are in a war and the decisive battle will be this winter. We need to stay united and we need a high level of solidarity.”

Whatever drastic measures come next, everyone should buckle up for the long haul, said one Commission official.

"The gas price cap discussion is being presented by some member states as a silver bullet,” the official said. "There is no single solution … this will not be over soon. Nor will it be easy."

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
×