EU energy ministers met on Friday to seek agreement on ways to shield citizens from sky-high energy prices and prevent power utilities from collapsing as Russia gradually turns off gas supplies to Europe in the standoff over Ukraine.
EU diplomats said that member states broadly back proposals to help power providers from being crushed by a liquidity crunch, but are divided about plans to cap Russian gas prices.
Russia, which supplied Europe with a third of its gas supplies until its invasion of Ukraine, has said it would turn off supplies completely if a cap is imposed.
Photo: AP
Friday’s ministerial talks aim to whittle down options to those with broad support before presenting formal proposals, rather than reaching a final decision.
“We are in an energy war with Russia,” Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Sikela said as he arrived at the emergency Brussels meeting. “We have to send a clear signal that we would do whatever it takes to support our households, our economies.”
Energy bills, already surging as demand for gas recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, rocketed higher still after Russia invaded Ukraine and the West imposed sanctions on Moscow. Governments have been scrambling to limit the price shock.
The European Commission has proposed offering emergency liquidity for power firms facing soaring collateral requirements, a move diplomats said EU governments broadly support. Some also back proposals to curbing power demand.
“I’m pretty sure we will align on liquidity measures to help companies,” Sikela said, adding that ministers would strive for a deal to “calm down the markets and not make them nervous.”
However, diplomats said the price cap proposal divided opinion, with some saying it would not help given Moscow’s deliveries to Europe have plummeted. Some central European states that still receive Russian gas fear losing it completely.
“There is not that much Russian gas coming to Europe, so I don’t see the added value of [a Russian gas price cap],” Belgian Minister of Energy Tinne Van der Straeten said.
Baltic states are among those backing the idea, saying a cap would deprive Moscow of cash to fund military action in Ukraine.
“Russia has said if you want our gas, take down the sanctions. It is blackmail. We cannot back down, we have to be united, we have to have the political will to help Ukraine win,” Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Riina Sikkut said.
An idea to claw back revenues from non-gas power generators and spend the cash on cutting consumer bills has also stirred resistance in some European capitals.
The EU proposal would cap the price non-gas generators are paid for power at 200 euros (US$202.14) per megawatt-hour, applying to wind, nuclear and coal generators, according to a draft proposal.
France, home to Europe’s largest nuclear power fleet, questioned whether the same limit should be applied to all generators.
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
ADVERSARIES: The new list includes 11 entities in China and one in Taiwan, which is a local branch of Chinese cloud computing firm Inspur Group The US added dozens of entities to a trade blacklist on Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce said, in part to disrupt Beijing’s artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing capabilities. The action affects 80 entities from countries including China, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, with the commerce department citing their “activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy.” Those added to the “entity list” are restricted from obtaining US items and technologies without government authorization. “We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives,” US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. The entities
Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) yesterday told lawmakers that she “would not speculate,” but a “response plan” has been prepared in case Taiwan is targeted by US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which are to be announced on Wednesday next week. The Trump administration, including US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, has said that much of the proposed reciprocal tariffs would focus on the 15 countries that have the highest trade surpluses with the US. Bessent has referred to those countries as the “dirty 15,” but has not named them. Last year, Taiwan’s US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US
RSS