- The EU will try to implement a "price corridor" as talks of a price cap on natural gas ended without an agreement.
- Just 15 of 27 nations approved the price cap, but the bloc needs unanimous approval to pass the measure.
The European Union announced it will try to implement a "price corridor" to rein in soaring energy costs, after talks to cap natural gas prices ended without an agreement.
In a meeting on Friday, the bloc scrambled to approve profit levies on energy companies, which will tax profits and redistribute them to households to help cover the soaring cost of energy. It also approved a mandatory 5% cut on electricity demand during peak hours.
But just 15 nations in the 27-country bloc approved the proposal to cap gas prices, Reuters reported, and the EU needs unanimous approval for the measure to pass.
"We will … try to negotiate a price corridor, not a fixed cap, that allows us to bring down the costs for our consumers," EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson said at a press hearing on Friday, though she did not give details about the range of prices being considered.
European households have been hit with a spike in energy bills since Russia slashed gas flows to the continent this summer. Most recently, an apparent act of sabotage on the Nord Stream pipeline caused gas prices to surge another 11%, and European electricity prices are now more than 1000% above their levels a year ago.
But some countries are against a price cap on natural gas – which is largely used to generate electricity – because it won't allow countries to compete against each other in the market, meaning some could have difficulty getting supplies at all.
"A fixed price cap on gas can only work if we answer the question of what happens if not enough gas comes to Europe … The only answer I hear is that then the amount would be divided up. I do not think that is politically possible," German economy minister Robert Habeck said, who opposed the measure.
Variations of the price cap proposal were also considered, such as limiting the price cap to Russian gas, or only to gas used to generate electricity, but ended inconclusively. More pressure will be exerted on European leaders to take action as winter draws closer, especially as gas supplies are set to potentially tighten further into 2023.