Energy crisis hits European class ubit poland accuses Germany of selfishness
- As the Russian-Ukrainian war crisis escalates, after the bombing of the Russian-costed Crimea-Crimea Bridge, the European class unit began to disintegrate, Poland accused Germany of “selfishly” in its handling the energy crisis expected in the winter due to the Russian war in Ukraine, Sky News reported.
The majority of EU countries are demanding Brussels propose a maximum gas price cap, but details are at the center of the dispute, with some capitals seeking to set a comprehensive ceiling on all gas trade transactions and import contracts while others prefer to cap the electricity sector only.
Setting a cap on gas prices is one of a series of proposals and initiatives submitted by European countries to cope with declining gas supplies from Russia, which has been providing 40 percent of Europe's needs, as well as skyrocketing prices. Although gas prices have fallen below their peak this year, they are still more than 200 percent higher than at the beginning of September last year.
Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands oppose price caps, fearing it will hinder the purchase of gas needed by their economies and reduce the impact of any stimulus to cut consumption.
Czech Prime Minister Peter Viala specifically spoke of capping the prices of gas used to produce electricity, while his Latvian counterpart Chrysiannis Carins said the cap would be “great” if the bloc could guarantee supplies from producers.
Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Beetle warned that the EU should be careful not to compromise its position in global markets by keeping sellers away from it by imposing an unattractive ceiling, because “maybe (at that time) we will have a price cap but we have no energy.”
European Council President Charles Michel, who chairs the summit, said decisions were not expected on Friday but hoped discussions among leaders would lead to an agreement when they next meet on Oct. 20-21.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki criticized Germany for what he sees as generous spending of 200 billion euros ($196 billion) in subsidies to protect consumers and businesses from rising energy costs.
“German selfishness must be eliminated,” he said, repeating concerns about a financial gap between rich countries that are able to spend large sums on domestic support and those that cannot.
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