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The European Union will undertake a “comprehensive and profound reform” of its electricity market, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday, September 14, during her State of the EU address, devoted largely to the energy crisis. The official indicated that she also wants to limit the super-profits of renewable and nuclear energy producers. The measure could represent 140,000 million euros to the EU countries.
How to ensure that 447 million Europeans can stay warm this winter and cope with rising electricity bills? The EU will undertake a “comprehensive and profound reform” of its electricity market, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised during her State of the EU address to Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, September 14.
“Beyond the immediate crisis, we have to think about the future. The current design of the electricity market no longer does justice to consumers, who should benefit from low-cost renewable energies. Therefore, electricity prices must disassociate themselves from the dominant influence of gas,” the official told the European Parliament.
Ursula von der Leyen also wants to cap the revenues of nuclear and renewable energy producers, which would allow “more than €140 billion” to be raised for EU countries to redistribute to vulnerable households and businesses.
With electricity prices triggered by the price of gas – a consequence of the war in Ukraine – these companies are selling their production well above their production costs, obtaining super-profits that Brussels proposes to recover: “At this time, it is not fair to obtain extraordinary profits from the war at the expense of consumers”, assured Ursula von der Leyen in the European Parliament.
Hydrogen fever and the future of the energy market
Beyond the war in Ukraine and the issue of electricity prices, Ursula von der Leyen announced the creation of a public bank dedicated to hydrogen capable of investing 3,000 million euros “to build the future market” for this energy in boom, announced the president of the European Commission.
“We have to move from the niche market to the mass market, we want to produce ten million tons of renewable hydrogen in the EU every year by 2030”, which requires “closing the investment gap”, he said, assuring that this public bank also will help “guarantee the purchase of hydrogen”.
Ursula von der Leyen also called for “strategic reserves” to be set up to avoid interruptions in the supply of “critical” raw materials for her industry, especially rare earths and lithium, whose global supply is controlled by China.
“Nearly 90% of rare earths and 60% of lithium are processed in China. We will define strategic projects along the entire supply chain, from extraction to refining, from transformation to recycling, and create reserves where supply is threatened”, said the President of the Commission.
Finally, he assured that the EU will double its firefighting capacity next year with the purchase of ten light amphibious aircraft and three more helicopters.
“This summer we have sent planes from Greece, Sweden or Italy to fight the fires in France and Germany. But as these events become more frequent and intense, Europe will need more capacity,” he said.
Von der Leyen plans a new trip to kyiv
Although the leader focused on the issue of rising energy prices in her speech, she also promised Europe’s “unwavering solidarity” with Ukraine and firmness in dealing with Moscow.
Ursula von der Leyen paid tribute to the Ukrainian first lady, Olena Zelenska, who was present in the hemicycle and received a standing ovation from MEPs.
“Dear Olena, it takes immense courage to stand up to Putin’s cruelty. You have found that courage,” she said, dressed in Ukrainian colors, announcing that she would leave for kyiv as soon as the parliamentary debate on her speech in Strasbourg was over to discuss ” in detail” the continuation of European aid with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“I stand here before you with the conviction that, thanks to our courage and solidarity, Putin will fail and Europe will win,” said the European Commission president, speaking in English, French and German.
“Europe’s solidarity with Ukraine will remain unwavering,” the EU leader promised, insisting that “there is no time for appeasement” and that EU sanctions against Russia will not be lifted.
The speech on the state of the Union, a “key moment in European democracy”, according to Parliament, must allow the Commission, which is not elected but promotes European laws, to account for its achievements and present its projects.
with AFP
This article was adapted from its French original
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