- Commission warns against gas price cap
- New industry alliance: approval for Berlin’s renewables proposal
- Commission revises liability rules – including damage caused by AI
- EU Commission announces oil price cap as part of 8th Russia sanctions package
- UN Security Council to meet Friday over Nord Stream gas pipelines leaks
- EU countries to revise minimum income regulations
- Circular economy: German strategy coming in 2024
- Jens Gieseke – Opportunity for synthetic fuels
Last night, the EU Commission sent its analysis on how to curb gas prices to the member states. At their last meeting three weeks ago, the energy ministers had explicitly asked for proposals. But now, the Commission drastically shows the consequences of a general gas price cap. To ensure gas flows between member states, a central distribution player would have to be created, writes Manuel Berkel in his analysis of the non-paper available to Europe.Table.
The EU Commission also announced new sanctions against Russia yesterday. According to a proposal by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the eighth package is to include, among other things, a price cap on Russian oil. The price cap is intended to reduce Russian revenues while stabilizing the global oil market. You can read details on the proposal in our news section.
A new industrial alliance from Germany is to promote the production of technology components for the energy transition in Europe and keep the EU competitive. The aim is to encourage the manufacture of products such as heat pumps, wind turbines, or photovoltaics in European plants. The initiative can count on support: EU Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton will offer his operational help at today’s Competitiveness Council, write Till Hoppe and Lukas Scheid.
Corinna Visser looked at how the EU Commission intends to revise the liability rules for products, some of which are very outdated. It will have to pay particular attention to artificial intelligence. In the future, it should be easier for consumers to make claims in the event of damage.
Lisa-Martina Klein
Feature
Commission warns against gas price cap
The EU Commission has warned against a Europe-wide price cap on gas markets. “Such a measure would require a political decision in advance on the method of allocating gas to member states and the criteria to be used in doing so,” it said in an analysis sent to member states on Wednesday evening.
A general gas price cap would also affect intra-EU gas trade, the commission writes. Currently, states, where supply is already compromised, could secure gas supplies from other EU countries through higher prices. A uniform price cap would eliminate this market-based distribution in the event of a gas shortage.
If the EU introduced a gas price cap, the paper said alternative mechanisms would have to be found to distribute scarce gas to member states and different categories of consumers. To this end, a new body would have to be created to take over tasks from gas pipeline operators, the Brussels-based authority writes.
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