The 27 European energy ministers are meeting on Thursday 24 November in Brussels to try to stem the rise in energy prices in the wake of the war in Ukraine, the aim being to cap gas prices. However, this question has divided Europeans for several months, with Germany in particular fearing the effects on supplies in the months to come.
the gas price cap is one of the options clamored for since the spring by more than half of the States of the European Union. The 27 ended up agreeing a month ago at the European summit, thus snatching from Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark a compromise with a view to a cap… but a partial and limited cap, according to our correspondent in Brussels, Pierre Benazet.
A month later, the European Commission will propose to introduce a cap on the price of gas at 275 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh), a mechanism which would apply on 1 January next and for a period of one year.
But this device is accompanied by multiple conditions, which makes its implementation of this mechanism very complex and possible only in extreme market conditions, The mechanism must cover all transactions argues France and the commission must present operational text.
This mechanism aimed at avoiding a surge in prices could be activated on two conditions. First condition: that the gap becomes too great between the world price of natural gas and the European reference price – called TTF. Second condition: that the price of the megawatt/hour exceeds 275 euros.
Many countries are therefore waiting for a ceiling that will be a real safety net for European consumers to avoid a price spike comparable to that observed last summer, when the price of gas approached 314 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh). .
Insufficient mechanism for France, countries fear overconsumption
This mechanism for capping gas prices is already widely decried. In France, it is described as inadequate, insufficient or inconsistent. Euphemisms that reflect Spain’s position that the Commission is mocking the world with joking proposals.
Germany, which is the largest gas importer in Europe, remains the country most fiercely opposed to this mechanism. Several other countries also fear that this capping mechanism will lead to overconsumption of gas due to low prices.
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