Carole Ferry, edited by Juline Garnier 11:45 a.m., March 24, 2022

On the occasion of the three summits of NATO, the G7 and the European Union devoted to Ukraine, the Europeans will discuss possible solutions to limit the impact of Russian sanctions on the price of energy.

But the idea of ​​a price cap divides.

TO ANALYSE

The diplomatic marathon in Brussels is launched.

A month after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Europeans are looking for solutions to limit the economic impact of sanctions against Russia.

Three weeks ago, the European Union announced a division by three of the purchase of Russian gas next year, before doing without even completely by the end of the decade.

For now, 45% of the gas consumed in Europe comes from Russia.

We must therefore review the entire supply strategy and think about a solution to cap the price of energy.

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The 27 not all agree on a price cap

Today, for historical reasons, electricity prices are indexed to those of gas.

Thus, when the price of gas soars, so does that of electricity.

France is campaigning to decouple the two so that the French can have a cost of electricity for the consumer that is close to the production costs, since thanks to French nuclear power plants, electricity is cheaper.

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Succeeding in growth without increasing damage to the environment or to consumption is the idea promoted by France.

But Portugal and Spain rather advocate a cap on gas prices in Europe.

It would be a maximum of 180 euros per megawatt hour, which would naturally lead to a cap on the price of electricity.

Several countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg or even the Scandinavian countries are opposed to it.

They fear that a ceiling price will push suppliers to sell elsewhere than in Europe.

Finally, the European Commission suggests setting up a public entity that would buy electricity to resell it cheaper to households in difficulty.

All these tracks are supposed to be refined by May and are still very far from everyone agreeing.