EU fails to agree on cap on gas prices after 11 hour summit

At least 15 EU countries want a cap on surging prices amid public anger over the cost of living, but Germany is resistant.

European Union
The rising price of energy has contributed to public anger over the cost of living in many European countries.

European Union leaders have failed to reach an agreement on a plan to help protect their citizens from surging energy prices, despite hours of wrangling at a summit in Brussels.

The group’s leaders emerged from their second summit in as many weeks at about 2am in Brussels (00:00 GMT) with a “roadmap” to agreeing on a set of measures to lower energy bills, which have soared as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

While the announcement of the summit text made a public show of unity among the 27 member states, the absence of any decision on capping gas prices indicated negotiations would remain difficult.

“We do now have a very good and solid roadmap to keep on working on the topic of energy prices,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in the early hours of Friday morning.

No timeframe was given on when a decision on price caps would be made, with EU energy ministers due to meet in Luxembourg on Tuesday for further discussions.

The published text calls on the European Commission and EU countries to find ways to shield consumers from the high prices “while preserving Europe’s global competitiveness… and the integrity of the Single Market”.

“There is a strong and unanimously shared determination to act together, as Europeans, to achieve three goals: lowering prices, ensuring security of supply and continuing to work to reduce demand,” said meeting host Charles Michel, the EU Council president.

INTERACTIVE - Where Europe gets its energy from
(Al Jazeera)

The EU has been squabbling for months over which joint initiatives to adopt in negotiations made more challenging by the varying energy mixes in each country.

At least 15 EU states want a cap on gas prices amid growing public anger over the cost of living in countries including France and Belgium.

But Germany, the EU’s biggest economy, has resisted the call, arguing a cap risked freezing Europe out of the gas market and reducing incentives for energy saving.

Source: Aljazeera.com