The European Commission will present long-awaited proposals on Tuesday to stem rising energy prices that are hitting EU households and businesses hard, Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson announced on Wednesday, AFP reports.

Building on points already raised by EU Executive President Ursula von der Leyen and on which there is consensus among the 27 member states, the proposals will include a revision of the FTT index, which is used as a benchmark in gas transactions. operators, Simson said at the end of a meeting of European energy ministers in Prague.

This index “is no longer in line with market reality and is artificially inflating prices, we need to develop an alternative benchmark,” she told a news conference.

It will also unveil measures to “promote joint gas purchases to allow the EU to use its ‘weight’ to get better prices” with a view to replenishing supplies by the winter of 2023.

The aim is to prevent member countries from raising prices in competition with each other.

Finally, Brussels will present additional instruments to reduce gas consumption and strengthen solidarity between member states for the benefit of the most vulnerable regions.

However, Kadri Simson did not promise any proposals to cap the price of gas imports into the EU or to temporarily cap wholesale gas tariffs for power generation, two measures von der Leyen mentioned in a letter to the 27 last week.

“Our proposals will be measures for which we will have the largest consensus among states,” she commented, stressing that discussions will continue in the coming days to try to find a majority in favor of limiting the price of gas for electricity generation.

This mechanism, already in place in Spain and Portugal and supported by France, is still antagonizing countries that do not want government intervention in markets, including Germany.

The Commission’s proposals will be discussed at a summit of heads of state and government on October 20 and 21 in Brussels, before being discussed at another meeting of energy ministers on October 25 in Luxembourg, before possible adoption at an extraordinary ministerial meeting in November.