Such claims are more likely to elicit cynical looks at the eurogroup today, as policymakers grimly contemplate continued political deadlock on files including European deposit insurance and bank crisis management. “This has the potential to sow distrust between countries as we enter a gruelling winter,” said one EU official. The fact that poorer, more fossil fuel reliant countries are in line to suffer the brunt of the impact also risks deepening divides on the transition to net zero and a looming revamp of EU fiscal rules.
Northern member states are balking at the idea that higher fuel costs should lead the EU to slow down the road to decarbonisation. The energy crisis has touched on some of the EU’s most sensitive internal debates, from the bloc’s approach to carbon taxes, dependence on Russian gas, upcoming rules for sustainable finance, and the pending revision of EU spending rules.Įuropean leaders are due to grapple with the potential fallout at a summit in Brussels later this month. A commission’s “flexibilities” paper is likely to be published next week.īrussels’ initial response may prove to be modest, but officials and diplomats are acutely aware of how the energy debate could poison talks on crucial policy areas that will need to be resolved in the upcoming months. But the commission is unlikely to offer radical measures such as diverting the profits from the bloc’s Emissions Trading Scheme to cushion the blow for households. France and Italy have launched similar emergency measures this month.īrussels has said it will make clear the tools member states have at their disposal - in line with EU energy and competition rules. In an interview with the Financial Times, Spain’s deputy prime minister Nadia Calviño urges the commission to provide a common response after Madrid has been forced into drastic action to curb price rises for consumers. The EU’s southern and eastern countries have called on Brussels to help alleviate the pressure on their struggling households, demanding the European Commission come up new emergency funds and provide explicit support for national spending measures to protect consumers. This afternoon’s meeting of the eurogroup in Luxembourg will be dominated by record prices for natural gas, the causes and consequences of which are dividing member states.
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