Southern European countries, especially Spain, European Commission Change your initial bid drastically to limit the gas price. Not only to lower the fixed maximum of 275 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) proposed by Brussels last month, but also to make this cap mobile and adapt efficiently to market conditions. in Alicante at a summit chaired by Pedro SanchezNine countries of the EU-Mediterranean group signed a joint declaration calling for reforms in this regard.
Mediterranean countries consider it necessary to “accelerate a deep reform” in the current design of the electricity market, as well as to take measures to “limit price volatility” for gas in order to “decoup” from the price of natural gas. . All this in order to “immediately” minimize the impact of energy prices. Energy prices started rising before the Russian invasion of Ukraine and have risen rapidly since then. for him, Calls on the Council of Europe to implement an effective “market-based” capguarantees industrial competitiveness and security of supply.
They go even further: they demand it The system of joint gas purchases “to use our purchasing power” is quickly implemented. [el de la UE] lowering pricesAccording to a joint statement signed this Friday by Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Croatia, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus (EU-Mediterranean9 countries).
In this sense, Pedro Sánchez, President of the Spanish Government and host of the summit, believes that the European Union can agree on this issue. The ‘dynamic’ gas price has been capped because the current offering ‘needs a fix’. The Energy Ministers of Twenty-seven Countries will meet on 13 December to discuss this issue, and two days later the European Council, the decision-making body, will do the same with the heads of state and government of the community states.
President of France, Emmanuel MacronHe underlined that a “convergence” was reached in criteria such as energy at the meeting held to find a gas ceiling formula that combats speculation in energy markets, especially wholesale natural gas markets.
According to the Spanish proposal, the dynamic cap would be based on the average price of liquefied natural gas and a price increase to be determined. Other countries, such as Greece, argued that the value was partly dynamic (25%) and partly stable (75%).
The idea proposed by the European Commission is a cap that will be implemented when the market price reaches 275 euros per megawatt hour for two weeks, provided it is 58 euros higher than the 10-day liquefied natural gas reference. Spain pointed out that with this design, the gas cap would almost never be put into operation. According to Reuters and Bloomberg, The Czech Presidency for Europe is preparing a proposal to increase the cap of 220 euros per MWh.
Contingency funds for future crises
All nine countries of the EU-Mediterranean9 Asking Brussels to reform fiscal rules with the flexibility to deal with future economic crises. Italy, Portugal and Spain praised the management of the current economic crisis caused by the occupation of Ukraine and the previous economic crisis after the arrival of covid, which countered the failures committed after the collapse of the financial system in 2008. when they implement austerity measures at all costs.
Portuguese Prime Minister, socialist António Costa, called for the law to be implemented. joint emergency fund, “permanent investment vehicle”, To serve as a “permanent macroeconomic stabilizer” to guarantee the autonomy of the European Union. Strategic investments in defense or AI as well as energy transition or digitization.
Southern European countries, which represent about half of the European Union’s population and GDP, have had a say in the Union. “We, the countries in the south of the EU, aim to encourage Europe’s response to the great challenges that lie before us,” the joint statement said. Pedro Sánchez stressed that this group should “set the European agenda” and this was communicated to the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyenavailable by appointment.
While maintaining the objective of sound financing, they called for fiscal rules in the EU that would allow realistic and gradual debt reduction at a pace specific to each member state. At the end of next year, the Brussels moratorium on budget deficit limits expires; this is an exception launched to help get through the covid crisis and an exception stemming from the invasion of Ukraine.
energy corridors
France, Spain and Portugal welcomed the green hydrogen corridor project they unveiled hours ago. By the end of the decade, H2Med will connect the Iberian Peninsula to France via an onshore pipeline between Portugal and Spain and a submarine pipeline from Barcelona to Marseille.
In this sense, Italian vice-president Antonio Tajani (replacing flu patient Giorgia Meloni) wanted to emphasize that his country also wants to become a “centre” for solving its energy situation. Not long ago, Ursula von der Leyen blessed the H2Med project, saying it would enable the Peninsula to become a global energy hub.