The European Union seems set for a brand new showdown with Russia over fuel provides.
The bloc has revealed plans for a value cap on Russian fuel imports in retaliation for the warfare in Ukraine and measures to assist member states address the power squeeze.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, laid out 5 proposals on Wednesday, hours after Russia’s chief threatened to show off the faucets to any Western nations shifting to impose value caps on his nation’s power.
She stated Russia had change into an “unreliable supplier” after state-run Gazprom’s resolution to show off the faucets on the main Nord Stream 1 pipeline indefinitely final week, including that the EU’s reliance on Russian fuel had fallen considerably because the invasion and shares have been again at 82% throughout the bloc.
One of the opposite measures nevertheless betrayed the perilous place the bloc continues to face forward of winter.
Ms Von der Leyen proposed a compulsory minimize in electrical energy use throughout the EU to protect energy by 10% a month based mostly on a five-year common and by an additional 5% throughout instances of peak value durations.
She additionally deliberate a cap on the income of non-gas fuelled mills – bolstered by file uncooked power prices – to re-channel their “unexpected profits” into measures that help households and corporations.
A windfall tax on fossil gas companies was additionally on the playing cards, she stated, together with help for utility suppliers struggling beneath the load of wholesale costs.
The plans, which must be agreed by member states, might face opposition.
Some EU nations are cautious of capping Russian fuel costs in case that prices them the dwindling provide they nonetheless obtain from Moscow.
It follows affirmation that the UK is planning to convey down its personal power payments via a taxpayer-funded bailout. The particulars are anticipated this week.
Ms Von der Leyen defined that the deliberate cap on wholesale costs from Russia was now doable after the bloc had eased its reliance on Russian power.
“We have increased our preparedness and weakened Russia’s grip on our energy supply through demand reduction – which allowed our common storages to be at 82%,” she stated.
“Through diversification we have increased deliveries of LNG or pipeline gas from the US, Norway, Algeria, Azerbaijan, and others. For example Norway is now delivering more gas to the EU than Russia.”
The UK has additionally been pumping file volumes to the EU by way of interconnectors for months as a part of EU efforts to bolster storage.
Ms Von der Leyen stated Russian fuel accounted for 9% of imports, down from 40% in February earlier than the invasion of Ukraine.
Source: information.sky.com”