The agreement means that the countries agree to coordinate joint gas purchases and the sharing of gas between the member countries if a gas shortage occurs. The EU countries did not agree on a price ceiling for gas, but in return they agree that the European Commission should present a proposal for an emergency brake that can be used if there is a large price development on the TTF gas exchange. This was stated by the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at a press conference in Brussels last night. – Ensures security of supply TTF is a gas exchange in the Netherlands that sets the reference price for gas trade in the EU. According to von der Leyen, the agreement that has now been concluded will both ensure cheaper purchases and take care of security of supply in crisis situations. She says that the agreement will contribute to less fluctuations in the gas price. At the same time, the agreement means that a new index will be created to supplement the prices on the TTF exchange. The EU countries realize that such an index is necessary to obtain more correct prices that take account of the increasing use of liquefied natural gas (LNG). – We now have a solid roadmap for work on energy prices, von der Leyen said. – Solidarity wins Just before the press conference last night, EU President Charles Michel announced that the countries had become united. EU countries must “work on measures to limit energy prices for households and business”, he wrote on Twitter. – Unity and solidarity have won, he wrote. EU President Charles Michel announced on Friday night that the EU countries have agreed on measures to manage energy prices. Photo: Geert Vanden Wijngaert / AP Negotiations continued last night The EU’s leaders had then been sitting together for a summit since Thursday morning to try to find a solution to the energy crisis in Europe. The dispute was mainly between Germany, which did not want any price ceiling, and several other EU countries who argued for such a price ceiling. Germany has long resisted this, but the country has faced strong opposition, including from France and Italy, and several other central and eastern European countries. Internally in the EU, irritation had built up over Germany’s plans to spend NOK 2,000 billion on subsidizing gas consumption internally in the country. Defense against price caps Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark are among the countries that do not share this view. The three fear that the bill for a possible price ceiling will end up on the taxpayers, as they will have to finance the gap between the price ceiling and the market price. Or even worse, in that the suppliers choose to sell the gas to countries outside the EU in order to achieve the market price. Several countries also feared that a situation would arise where some EU countries would spend money on paying for the price ceiling, while the energy is sent out of the country to other EU countries or countries outside the EU, which would thus get cheaper energy without paying . The agreement means that the EU countries give the European Commission the right to proceed with a proposal that can intervene in the price setting on this gas exchange. Among others, professor of energy planning Brian Vad Mathiesen from Denmark has warned against this. Danish authorities have also not wished to follow up on such a proposal, but it has now nevertheless become part of a package that the EU countries stand behind in an attempt to push energy prices down. Turned around after dinner Before dinner on Thursday night it looked dark. The fear of European division – as one thinks that Putin is hoping for – meant that after dinner, the EU leaders went back to the negotiating table late in the evening. A few hours later the breakthrough came. The EU summit continues on Friday. Among other things, Iran and China are then on the agenda. The next step in the process around gas prices will be for the EU countries’ energy ministers to meet again on Tuesday next week. The discussion will then continue on the basis of the agreement from the EU summit, von der Leyen stated last night. Will negotiate with Norway on gas price The EU will negotiate with the gas nation Norway on a “price corridor”, according to von der Leyen. Norway, which is Europe’s largest gas supplier, has repeatedly rejected a price cap on gas. In the commission’s new crisis package, they propose that a dynamic maximum price in “case of emergency” can be used for gas transactions on the TTF exchange. Other European gas exchanges must be co-loaded to the new spot price via a dynamic “price corridor”. A price corridor usually means that a price floor and a price ceiling are seen. In the long term, the commission will develop a new reference price for gas trading in Europe. Norway and the European Commission have had close contact in recent weeks, including through the joint working group for gas, says the commission’s spokesperson Tim McPhie to NTB. – This contact continues, with the aim of finding a balance between short-term price reductions and long-term cooperation, he writes in an e-mail to NTB.
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The EU countries agreed on an energy agreement last night – without a price cap on gas – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
