After piloting collective orders for anti-Covid vaccines during the pandemic, the European Commission said on Wednesday that it was “ready to create” a gas purchasing platform at European Union (EU) level to diversify its sources of gas. 'supply.
The leaders of the member states, meeting in summit Thursday and Friday, should give the green light, according to a draft of conclusions.
Anxious to isolate Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine, Brussels wants to cut European purchases of Russian gas by two-thirds this year.
By grouping requests, the Commission would "facilitate contacts with international suppliers" and could obtain "advantageous prices" thanks to the economic weight of the Union.
She would "negotiate with suppliers and prepare future energy partnerships", added the European executive, who is already discussing with the main producing countries (Norway, United States, Qatar, Algeria).
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also met the bosses of major European energy groups (E.ON, Shell, Vattenfall, Eni, TotalEnergies, etc.) on Monday.
-"Stocks at 80%"-
Europeans are also expected to decide this week to "coordinate to ensure adequate levels of storage".
The gas pipeline network in Europe Patricio ARANA AFP
The Commission wants to force each member state to fill its reserves to "at least 80%" of capacity by November 1, then to 90% before each winter in the following years, with precise intermediate objectives to be met from February to October.
This legislative proposal, unveiled on Wednesday, will have to be approved by the Twenty-Seven and the European Parliament.
The operators of the storage facilities, certified by independent bodies, "will have to communicate the filling levels to the national authorities" who will report to Brussels on a monthly basis.
Some countries that do not have the necessary capacities on their territory will be helped by others.
However, the options detailed Wednesday to cushion the impact of soaring prices are far from consensus.
Brussels is proposing to the States to establish a public entity buying back electricity on the market to supply it to vulnerable consumers, to tax the "excessive" profits of energy companies in order to redistribute them, or even to introduce a temporary cap on the prices of electricity on the wholesale market.
-"Don Quixote"-
Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Belgium and France are in favor of capping and are calling for a structural reform of the European electricity market, where wholesale prices today depend on those of gas.
Origin of EU gas imports Patricio ARANA AFP
On the front line, Madrid is like "Don Quixote" but gradually realizes "that the situation is complex", observes a diplomat.
"If you introduce a cap of 180 euros per megawatt-hour but the market price is 200 euros, energy companies will sell their electricity elsewhere. Imagine a cap of 120 euros as the Belgians propose... this would threaten the security of supply," he said.
"And if you want to make up the difference with a European fund, that means for the EU to subsidize energy producers, i.e. Gazprom, Qatar, etc., and that will divert investments in renewables “, he adds.
Several States (Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, etc.) remain fiercely hostile to any interventionism in the market, relying on free competition and favoring energy efficiency measures or the strengthening of network interconnections on the continent. .
Three heavyweights in the European energy sector EDF, Enel and Iberdrola, have for their part called together for a cap on gas prices in the EU to bring them back to their pre-crisis level.
The general opinion is that nothing will be decided this week in Brussels on this subject.
"The reduction of our dependencies is more consensual than the reform of our markets and the development of price control tools", recognized Tuesday the French Secretary of State for European Affairs Clément Beaune, while considering that "the idea reform of the European electricity market had come a long way" in the face of soaring prices.
© 2022 AFP