The energy ministers of the EU member states got their hands on the spiral ball that was fed to them from last week’s summit.
21:45•Updated 21:46
The preparation of the gas price ceiling is currently being passed from one hand to another in the European Union like a hot potato, but they do not want to make any moves towards concreteness in order to succeed.
The economy ministers of the EU member states last discussed the price ceiling on Tuesday in Luxembourg, but the results were weak.
Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä (center) represented Finland at the meeting. He described the greetings to the EU Commission in such a way that the Commission will have to mediate the situation with many member states in the further preparation.
– The Commission was listening to conflicting speeches about price ceilings. So if it can be considered political guidance, then they have a challenging situation, Lintilä said.
Two time bombs are ticking in the background: climate change and Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. The gas price ceiling is related to the latter, because Russia has tightened the gas taps before the winter heating season.
From the summit to the energy ministers
The spiral ball returned to the table of the energy ministers on the night between Thursday and Friday, when the political leaders of the EU countries agreed to promote a gas price ceiling or price cutter for gas used for electricity.
However, the countries were very much in disagreement about the implementation methods, which were left to the energy ministers and the EU Commission to think about.
Among other things, Germany has feared that after the price ceiling, gas would no longer come to Europe in the same way as before and that it could even be sold out of Europe. However, it is not just a matter of disagreement between one country, because the countries’ energy environments are very different.
Other proposals proceed more easily
Although the practical implementation of the price ceiling seems extremely difficult, the new quick ways to solve the energy crisis seem easier. Among them are joint purchases to lower the price of gas and the obligation of EU countries to help each other jointly if there is a shortage of gas somewhere.
– Perhaps the main message was that the line is very similar to that of the European Council, Lintilä said.
The European Council is a summit meeting of the political leaders of the Union region, which outlines the direction of the Union’s policy.
Lintilä also pointed out that, for example, Ukraine is in a situation where a third of the energy production is currently out of use due to Russian attacks.
– And a country that also has a very critical situation is Moldova, where Ukraine has largely taken care of the energy side, Lintilä said.