EU Energy Ministers Seek Deal To Ease Energy Crisis

European Union energy ministers on Tuesday started seeking some common ground to flesh out the barest of tentative agreements that their leaders could find last week to soften the blow of an energy crisis for their citizens while maintaining a united front during Russia’s war in Ukraine, Raf Casert reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: Czech Deputy Prime Minister Jozef Sikela chaired Tuesday’s meeting.

With winter approaching, home energy bills piling up, and some businesses teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, there is a popular outcry for the 27-nation bloc to move much faster.

But the fluctuating global energy markets and different energy mixes among member states — ranging from nuclear to natural gas and other fossil fuels — make smart, lightning-quick decisions nearly impossible.

“We have to be fast. And I will not hide that I am slightly disappointed that we are not going as fast forward as possible,” said Czech Deputy Prime Minister Jozef Sikela, who chaired Tuesday’s meeting.

“There is urgency, because our industries are destabilized and can no longer face international competition,” French Energy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said.

After the vague commitments of their leaders last Friday, the ministers were looking at updated proposals from the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, such as variations of a gas price cap and joint natural gas purchases meant to target volatility in energy markets, which sends bills higher.

But Sikela said the measures left something to be desired: “At least for me — I simply — I’m missing a lot of things within the proposal.” So instead of having a deal on a gas price cap and other decisions to keep prices lower within days, Sikela is looking for agreement by the end of November.

Key will be to decide what targeted steps would actually help to keep businesses running and households warm over the coming months.

As a result of trade disruptions tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine, EU nations have reduced the overall share of Russian natural gas imports to the EU from 40% before the invasion to around 7%. And gas storage has already far exceeded targets and stands at some 95% of capacity ahead of the winter heating season.

The EU has relied on increased imports of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, including from the United States, to help address the fall in Russian supplies. The bloc will need LNG shipments even more in winter 2023 to refill storages that still include Russian gas this year.

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