A compromise on an EU price cap on natural gas remained uncertain Tuesday thanks to deep divisions among member countries over the impact of such a measure.
EU ministers were in Brussels for an emergency Energy Council to tackle the issue — which is part of the bloc’s response to the turmoil in energy markets unleashed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Arriving at Tuesday’s meeting, EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson sounded downbeat about the prospects for a deal, calling it “probably the most challenging” Energy Council yet.
The price cap proposal pits a group of five skeptical countries — Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark and Hungary — against roughly 16 that favor the idea.
Still, a group of ministers from both opposed camps gathered in the Council building before the formal meeting started to hash out their positions in a bid to avoid sending the proposal back to EU leaders — something countries had been told to avoid. The leaders meet for a Council summit on Thursday.
“We will at least aim for broad agreement on technical parameters and as we all know there are still very different views around the table, so at first we need to see if ministers do have the willingness for compromises,” Simson said.
Under the Commission’s original plan, the cap would go into effect when prices on the Dutch TTF hub hit €275 per megawatt-hour for two weeks, if those prices are more than €58 per MWh higher than liquefied natural gas prices on the global market.
That proposed cap was set so high that it would not have been triggered even during August’s price spike, when prices briefly reached €350 per MWh — prompting outrage from cap-backing countries.
The Czech Council presidency has since suggested several amendments to the Commission proposal.
The latest compromise, obtained by POLITICO and dated December 12, calls for a cap to be activated if gas prices reach between €200 and €220 per megawatt-hour, which would have to be sustained for between three days and five days for a maximum bidding limit to be imposed. The price and number of days appear in brackets, suggesting the ranges given are placeholders for final figures to be negotiated.
Czech Industry Minister Jozef Síkela said the latest text now on the table was a “feasible proposal” that addressed the concerns of countries on both sides of the divide.
“Citizens and businesses expect from us that we will come up with a clear solution,” he said on arrival at Tuesday’s meeting. “Now this is purely on the ministers to show if they are ready to reach an agreement or not.”
An outcome with no deal and preceded by endless discussions is just “getting embarrassing now,” one EU diplomat said, adding that it’s “looking like” a compromise could be feasible.
That could mean reassuring skeptics with more robust safeguards including automatic suspension of the cap and a gas price floor in exchange for a lower trigger level.
But that didn’t stop the opposing camps from digging in.
Austria’s Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler indicated there was “a reasonable scope for a compromise,” but she slammed pro-price cap countries for taking other energy emergency measures “hostage” over the cap fight. Those other measures include steps like joint gas purchases and speeding up approvals for renewable energy projects, and aren’t controversial.
“I am viewing this meeting today with a bit of skepticism because there has been too little movement in the last days,” she added.
Kostas Skrekas, energy minister of Greece — which has been among the biggest proponents of a price cap — said: “The time for consultation has run out … European citizens are struggling … and Europe is debating in vain. All of us must take our responsibilities and agree without delay.”
Nektaria Stamouli contributed reporting.
