EU Commission chief to present plans to cap gas prices

BRUSSELS (AA) – The head of the European Commission said on Wednesday she will propose plans on limiting gas prices to EU leaders at their upcoming summit.

Speaking at the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Ursula von der Leyen stressed the Russian war is causing economic and social hardship.

Russia’s manipulation of energy prices puts “a heavy burden” on EU citizens who experience “reduced purchasing power" and "loss of competitiveness for companies” because of the rising energy costs, she said.

In order to handle the crisis, she promised to lay out plans on limiting gas prices to the EU leaders.

The EU heads of state and government will hold an informal summit in the Czech capital Prague on Thursday and Friday.

According to the proposal, the EU would intensify negotiations with “trusted” energy supplier partners, such as Norway, to “dampen the price we pay for gas imports.”

She stressed the EU has to strengthen its so-called Energy Platform, fostering common purchases to use the bloc’s “considerable market power” and to prevent EU countries from “outbidding each other on world markets and driving prices up for Europe.”

Von der Leyen also suggested that leaders discuss capping the price that is used to generate electricity as part of an overall reform of the EU market.

“We have to limit this inflationary impact of gas on electricity, everywhere in Europe,” she stated.

The move responds to the joint demand of 15 EU countries, including Spain, France, and Italy, on reforming the system and limiting gas prices.

Under the current rules, the final electricity price is based on the price of the last and the most expensive energy source and does not reflect the lower costs of renewables or nuclear power.

- Response to sabotage against Nord Stream pipelines

“The acts of sabotage against Nord Stream pipelines have shown how vulnerable our energy infrastructure is,” von der Leyen stated.

She promised that the European Commission will present a plan for strengthening the EU’s critical infrastructure.

The EU executive body will propose a new legal act on reinforcing the resilience of critical EU entities and work with EU member states to carry out stress tests on their infrastructure, she added.

The EU will also step up its cooperation with NATO and other key partners, and ensure the better use of satellite data to identify potential threats, von der Leyen added.