The Netherlands and Austria were the only two countries to abstain from voting on the EU’s new gas price cap due to concerns about major disruptions to the EU’s energy security and financial markets, according to Dutch Energy Minister Rob Jetten.
The EU’s new gas price cap – the so-called market correction mechanism – is designed to cap excessive gas prices in Europe but not everyone is convinced.
“I remain worried about major disruptions on the European energy market, about the financial implications, and, most of all, I am worried about European security of supply,” said Jetten, a long-term sceptic of the measure.
Once in place, the measure would cap prices on the EU’s main gas trading hub should they exceed €180 per Megawatt-hour (MWh) for three consecutive working days and if they are higher than global gas prices by more than €35 per MWh.
It will be in place for a year and, when triggered, will limit gas prices at a certain level depending on the global price of liquified natural gas (LNG).
Germany – another sceptic of the measure – eventually supported it due to increased safeguards for the cap and heightened ambition in an accompanying law to boost renewable energy.
But Jetten believes the mechanism remains potentially unsafe and does not solve the core problem driving Europe’s energy woes.
“To solve the energy crisis in Europe, we need to save energy and purchase gas jointly to prevent the strong price hikes,” said Jetten.
Meanwhile, Jetten said he was pleased that two other measures that had been held hostage by pro-price cap countries had been approved on Monday. These aim to speed up the approval for joint gas purchasing and accelerate Europe’s renewable energy rollout by tackling permitting issues.
(Kira Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson | EURACTIV.com)
Source: euractiv.com
