2 yıl önce

France, Germany spar as frustrated EU leaders hold energy talks

Agreement reached "to work on measures to contain energy prices for households and businesses," says European Council’s Charles Michel, as countries meet to discuss gas prices pushed skywards by Russia-Ukraine conflict.

AFP

The bloc's 27 member states have been squabbling for months over measures to lower energy bills, and a Brussels summit began in a chilly mood.

EU leaders have reached an agreement on a "roadmap" aimed at putting in place measures within weeks to shield European consumers from soaring energy prices.

The accord late on Thursday came after 11 hours of wrangling over broad proposals to lower energy bills as gas prices were pushed skywards by the war in Ukraine.

The bloc's 27 member states have been squabbling for months over which joint initiatives to adopt, riven by the fact that energy mixes in the countries vary greatly.

While the announcement of the summit text made a public show of unity, it was clear that the coming negotiations would remain difficult. One step in that would come next week with a meeting of EU energy ministers in Luxembourg.

The summit agreement set out a "solid roadmap to keep on working on the topic of energy prices", European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told a media conference.

The published text calls on the European Commission and EU countries in the coming weeks to find ways to shield consumers from the high prices "while preserving Europe's global competitiveness... and the integrity of the Single Market".

European Council President Michel said, "the energy crisis represents a threat to the internal market" of the EU and stressed that "maximal coordination" was needed to protect it.

He said the agreement was reached "to work on measures to contain energy prices for households and businesses."

Germany almost isolated

It came after EU leaders spared over how to ride out Europe's energy shock, with traditional partners France and Germany at loggerheads over imposing a cap on gas prices.

Countries such as Italy pushed hard for a swift and ambitious cap on prices, in the teeth of opposition from Germany, the EU's biggest economy.

A spokesperson for Italian premier Mario Draghi said he had "emphasised the urgency of adopting measures which affect prices, such as the introduction of a price cap and a reform of the electricity market.

"He warned of the risk that the market fragments, which could have negative effects on European unity if the countries that have more fiscal space operate independently," the official said, in a swipe at Germany.

Several smaller economies are furious that the German government will not back a gas cap and for going alone in helping its citizens pay for high prices with a $196-billion spending bonanza.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz shot back at his critics as he arrived at the talks, saying that it was "quite clear that Germany has acted in solidarity" with his EU partners.

But French President Emmanuel Macron warned against Berlin standing alone as the talks began.

"Our role is to do everything to ensure that there is European unity and that Germany is part of it," Macron said. "I don't think it's good for Germany or for Europe if it isolates itself."

SOURCE: AFP