The EU countries have again been unable to agree on a European gas price cap, partly because of Germany’s reservations.
“Some questions could not be clarified today and must remain open,” said Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) after hours of negotiations with his colleagues in Brussels. He named security of supply and financial market stability as German concerns. The planned gas price cap is “extremely delicate”: “We are intervening in a market that is supposed to guarantee the supply.”
Habeck said progress was also made on technical issues and the structure of the mechanism at the special meeting of energy ministers. It is still unclear how high the price should be. This question should be clarified at the next meeting of energy ministers on Monday, said Habeck.
According to Habeck, it was still unclear whether the states would then be able to find a consensus. “An agreement that everyone is happy with is high diplomatic art,” he said. According to him, it could also be that a decision is made by qualified majority – if necessary over Germany’s vote. “It can happen that you find a solution, if necessary via majority decisions,” he said. In this specific case, at least 15 of the 27 EU countries, which together make up at least 65 percent of the total population of the EU, would have to agree.
For months, the EU countries have been arguing about measures to control gas prices, which have fluctuated sharply in the wake of the Ukraine war. Under pressure from a large number of countries, the EU Commission proposed capping the price for gas sold at the TTF wholesale site at EUR 275 per megawatt hour under certain circumstances. Such a price cap would affect large customers who trade there – not end consumers, as is the case with the federal government’s gas price brake.
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