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A dozen countries, including Belgium, Italy, Poland and Slovenia, have made efforts to “significantly” lower the European Union’s planned gas price cap amid the bloc’s attempts to reach an agreement on the issue, Reuters reports.
Gas prices in Europe have risen sharply this year after Russia cut gas supplies, leading to higher fuel prices and higher inflation.
EU countries held emergency talks Saturday trying to agree on a deal to cap prices at a Dec. 13 meeting of their energy ministers, but states remain at odds over the plan.
An official from one EU member state said countries were “narrowing down the differences” in their positions, but others said little progress was made Saturday. Diplomats will hold more talks on Monday.
Twelve of the 27 EU member states have circulated a document demanding that the price cap be “significantly” lower than the last compromise the countries agreed to.
“The text has not gone far enough towards what we could consider a satisfactory compromise,” they said.
The document, seen by Reuters, was submitted by Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia.
EU countries have been arguing for months over whether to cap gas prices, but so far have been unable to bridge the gap between their differences.
Some diplomats are skeptical that an agreement will be reached next week, and note that countries unhappy with the latest proposal have enough support to block its approval.
While pro-capitalization countries say the measure would protect their economies from high energy costs, Germany — Europe’s largest economy and gas market — and the Netherlands have opposed it. They warn that it could disrupt energy markets and deter gas producers from sending much-needed fuel to Europe.
According to the latest draft proposal under consideration by the countries, the cap would come into effect if prices exceed 220 euros per megawatt hour for five days under a Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) contract and are 35 euros above the reference price for liquefied natural gas (LNG), based on existing LNG price estimates.
The limit is lower than the €275/MWh proposed by the European Commission, but 12 countries have said it is still not low enough.
