The European Commission has proposed this Tuesday a plan to respond to rising energy pricesreplenish gas reserves for next winter and that Europe be independent of Russian fossil fuels before 2030, following the invasion of Ukraine. Among the Brussels measures is the possibility for countries to regulate the price under “exceptional circumstances”.
In addition, it establishes how countries can redistribute the high profits of the energy sector and consumer emissions trading and options to provide short-term support to companies affected by high energy prices and help reduce their exposure to price volatility in the medium and long term.
Furthermore, the Commission intends to present a legislative proposal by April requiring the gas storage throughout the European Union must be filled to at least 90% capacity by October of each year.
Faced with rising energy prices, the Commission has announced that it will study all possible options for emergency measures to limit the contagion effect of electricity prices, such as “temporary price caps”as indicated in a releasewhere it states that it will also evaluate options to optimize the design of the electricity market.
Stop depending on Russia
On the other hand, the European Commission maintains that it can be end Russia’s energy dependency “long before” the year 2030 and proposes a plan based on diversify gas supply and reduce fossil fuel use faster.
According to Brussels, currently Russia supplies 45% of the gas imported by the European Union, as well as 25% of oil and 45% of coal. The President of the Commission, Ursula Von der Leyenhas defended that the EU must become independent of these fuels of Russian origin: “Simply we cannot trust a provider that threatens us explicitly,” he said, as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine continues.
Thus, Von der Leyen has urged “act now to mitigate the impact of rising prices of energy, diversify our gas supply for the coming winter and accelerate the transition to clean energy.” “The faster we switch to renewable energy and hydrogen, combined with greater energy efficiency, the faster we will be truly independent and dominate our system energy,” he added.
Source: Lasexta
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