OUR energy crisis will be at the center of the agenda of the leaders of the 27 Member States in Summit which will be held in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.

In his letter of invitation to the 27, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, points out that “at the center of our agenda is the energy crisis, on which we must act without delay. In particular, we must urgently step up our three lines of action: demand reduction, supply security and price containment.”

Mr Michel highlights that “this is an opportunity” to consider further measures that could bring prices down, and in particular he refers to the common gas market, the development of a new benchmark to better reflect conditions in the natural gas market, and consideration of a temporary dynamic cap. prices.

“I also expect that we will face other short-term and long-term market interventions such as the EU framework to cap gas prices for electricity generation. I am sure that, despite various national restrictions, we will approach our energy dialogue constructively, realizing the urgency of the situation for our collective interests,” added the President of the European Council.

At the same time, he states that “our economic prospects will largely depend on how we manage our energy crisis. As a result of our energy debate, I would like us to also focus on effective coordination of our economic policy measures, including support for pan-European solutions.”

The war in Ukraine will also be on the leaderboard.

The Kremlin has decided to take several escalating steps, including launching a mobilization campaign, organizing fake “referendums” on the illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories, and using threatening rhetoric. More recently, Russian troops have indiscriminately bombed civilian areas. Those responsible for these war crimes must be held accountable. At our meeting, I would like to discuss our assistance to Ukraine and, in particular, consider the urgent needs of Ukraine in preparing for this winter, as well as the sustainability of our assistance in the medium and long term,” notes Charles Michel. At the same time, it says, that in the wake of the recent “sabotage” attacks on the Nordstream pipelines, “we will also look at ways to step up our cooperation to protect critical infrastructure.” The leaders’ discussion will focus on China and preparations for the EU-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit, which will be held on December 14 in Brussels.

The European Council meeting will start at 16:00. (Greece time) on Thursday, October 20th.

“After our traditional exchange of views with the President of the European Parliament, we will deal with the energy crisis and its economic consequences. Then we will deal with other issues, mainly the situation in Ukraine and other foreign policy issues,” concludes Mr. Michel.

Source: APE/MEB