There is no evidence that, in the short term, energy prices will stop rising, but - despite the emergency situation - the European Union is unable to find an understanding on a common strategy.
While in Italy fuel costs continue to rise, with diesel exceeding 1.6 euros per liter (the highest since 2014), at the Extraordinary Council of EU Energy Ministers in Luxembourg, there is no agreement between the Member States on expensive bills. Everything is postponed to December, in the belief that the Commission's new package on the decarbonisation of the gas market and the hydrogen market can break the deadlock.
The summit was preceded by the signing of a document by Germany and eight other countries that are opposed to any reform of the European energy market. Spain, on the other hand, presented itself with a package of proposals, including the separation of electricity prices from gas prices, the implementation of anti-speculative measures on the emissions market and the possibility for a country to intervene autonomously in the formation of energy prices. Measures with which Madrid hoped to create an axis of Southern Europe, but which have not met with great consensus.
Meanwhile, the European executive remains cautious: "The current market is the best way to guarantee green energy, we cannot make decisions too quickly", explained the European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson.
Italy also intends to move with caution, aiming above all at the voluntary purchase of common gas stocks.
"This mechanism must be designed in such a way as to favor competition between producers, minimizing market distortions", declared the Minister of Ecological Transition Roberto Cingolani, underlining how the measures taken by the Draghi government are in line with the interventions suggested by the Commission in mid-October: the aim is to protect the most vulnerable and businesses .
This aim remains the only point of convergence that emerged in the meeting. "There was no consensus position regarding the interventions that must be applied at EU level", admitted in fact at the end of the meeting Jernej Vrtovec, Minister of Infrastructure of Slovenia and current president of the Union.
(Unioneonline / F)
