24 November 2022, Thursday, 17:50 428

EU does not agree on price limit on Russia’s oil

Редактор: Roman Vaniyan

The energy ministers of the European Union countries did not agree on setting the upper price limit for Russian oil and will hold a new meeting in December.

This follows from an article by the European Pravda online media outlet with reference to Politico.

According to four EU diplomats, the ministers who gathered in Brussels on Thursday for a meeting of the Energy Council reached an informal agreement as for lesser contradicting elements of the package of European Commission’s measures on fighting the energy crisis, however, they failed to agree on further actions as for so-called Market Correction Mechanism.

The alliance of countries most strongly opposed to the Commission's proposal - Belgium, Spain, Italy, Poland, and Greece - have made it clear they would not formally agree to a wider package until the gas price cap is resolved, two diplomats said.

That would require another extraordinary meeting of the Energy Council, which the three diplomats said is scheduled for December 13, allowing EU leaders to approve the deal when they meet on December 15 and 16.

The Commission's proposed Market Correction Mechanism would provide for a month-ahead price cap at the EU's main TTF trading point, but only when prices exceed EUR 275 per MWh for two weeks and those prices are EUR 58 above the global LNG price for 10 days.

The plan has been criticized by both sides of the debate. Countries supporting the cap said it was designed to never be used; while skeptical countries said the proposal risked undermining the bloc's financial stability.

Ministers informally agreed on the Commission's plans to speed up the approval of renewable energy projects and a solidarity package in the energy crisis, which includes plans for joint gas purchases, solidarity measures to ensure the exchange of gas supplies within the EU, and a new price reference for liquefied natural gas.

As earlier reported, yesterday, the European Parliament recognized Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.