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By Alessandro Albano
Investing.com – It is a dis-European Union that, at Tuesday’s energy ministers’ summit, failed to reach an agreement on the gas price cap despite months of negotiations on the EU project.
After eight hours of negotiations, officials reported that moderate progress had been made with further divisions over the price to be set for the activation of the market ‘safeguard’ mechanism.
Leading the way are countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, and Hungary, who fear the permanent halt to Russian gas and the effects on their economies, which are heavily dependent on fossil fuel from Moscow.
The European Commission’s proposal will now be discussed on December 19, i.e., during the last EU Council of Energy Ministers for 2022, but it will also be on the table at the summit of EU heads of state and government meeting on Thursday, December 15.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said after the meeting, they have made progress but they are not done yet, not all questions have been answered today, to which Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó added that, a final agreement on the details of the price cap on gas is still missing.
The European division, however, risks derailing the EU’s response to the energy crisis. Prime Minister Meloni, speaking in the House on Tuesday, said Italy would proceed alone and at a national level if the EU response delays or proves ineffective.
Words confirmed today in the Senate after the EU council’s stalemate, with the prime minister reiterating that the summit has not yet brought substantial and appreciable news, the negotiations are ongoing.
On the Amsterdam Power Exchange, meanwhile, prices for January delivery are down 6.2% at €129 per MWh, partly due to milder-than-average seasonal weather forecasts that imply lower energy demand.
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