BRUSSELS, 30 Sep. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Energy Commissioner, Kadri Simson, has indicated this Friday that a measure to limit the price of all gas imports to the community market would require a clear commitment to reduce the consumption of this fuel by more than 15%, after 15 Member States, including Spain, have urged the European Commission to take this measure this week.
The commissioner indicated at a press conference after the Council of EU Energy Ministers that in order to take such a “drastic” measure in a “responsible” manner, a series of “non-negotiable” conditions should be met, including a clear commitment to Member States to reduce gas consumption beyond 15%, set in the Community Executive’s proposal last July.
For his part, the Czech Minister of Industry and Trade, Jozef Síkela, has put on the table different ways to implement this measure: “We can work with a dynamic cap, we can decouple and separate the marginalist marking of gas from electricity production” .
In addition, Simson has indicated that Brussels “is ready to develop a temporary measure at the European level to limit the price of gas in electricity generation”, that is, the so-called ‘Iberian mechanism’, however, he has clarified that it must be designed in such a way as to “lower prices without increasing consumption”.
There have been 15 Member States that have asked the Community Executive this week to establish a maximum price for gas imports to the community market, to which Simson has warned that it implies the “suspension of the gas market and creates security risks of supply”.
The Commissioner for Energy has shared that “the gas market does not work in a normal way” so “an intervention” is necessary, but she has insisted that the security of supply must be accompanied “by a strong commitment to reduce the demand”.
In addition, the commissioner has defended the strengthening of the European platform for joint gas purchases to negotiate at European level with the main gas suppliers.
In a further step, Simson has indicated that prices in the EU are higher than in other world markets and has advocated the development of a “complementary” gas benchmark that reflects the reality of energy markets and does not inflate prices. .
