The Commission will adhere to the proposal to limit Russian natural gas origin, transported through pipelines and in LNG, while offering to negotiate with reliable Union supply partners to achieve lower import prices. Part of the non-paper from the Commission, which will be discussed at tomorrow’s meeting of energy ministers in Brussels, is a proposal for adoption at the EU level. limiting the price of natural gas used to generate electricity. Recall that yesterday Ursula von der Leyen ruled out the possibility of the Commission’s proposal of a common ceiling on natural gas.

“First, we must act at the point where natural gas enters the European market. We are negotiating with reliable natural gas suppliers. If that doesn’t work, then we’ll probably consider a price cap,” said Energy Commissioner Kadri Simpson.

“In order to protect consumers from extremely high prices, we already proposed an emergency intervention in the electricity market in September. This will allow generating income to support households and businesses through windfall profits,” he added.

The commission’s work plan also includes the idea of ​​a new milestone that will have the CNG as a guideline and will be implemented on a voluntary basis. An additional benchmark would limit volatility and excessive price inflation, which is also partly due to the use of the TTF as a key indicator for their formation, the Commission’s analysis explains. The final proposal is still in preparation.

According to the EU representative, the proposal of 15 member countries to set a wholesale price ceiling for natural gas of any origin poses a threat to the security of supply, especially in regions where there is not enough of it. For the measure to be effective, it will be necessary to set up an authority at the European level to ensure the shipment of natural gas to places with limited supply. At the same time, he clarified, the measure does not help reduce energy demand, as it does not send the right signal to consumers.