Belgian Prime Minister Urges Return to Joint Gas Purchases in EU
12:43 GMT 24.06.2022 (Updated: 17:14 GMT 12.04.2023)
© AFP 2023 / SHAUN CURRY
Subscribe
BRUSSELS (Sputnik) - Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo on Friday called for a return to the idea of joint gas purchases and setting a gas price cap in the EU in anticipation of the winter season.
"Winter is likely to be difficult. Many countries are already preparing to reduce gas supplies. We can overcome this difficult period only if we act together. Belgium has already proposed several months ago to create an energy bloc, make joint procurement and set price ceilings. We need to coordinate better. Now the European Commission must take the initiative and organize our interaction", De Croo said ahead of the second day of the EU summit in Brussels.
On Thursday, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck announced the launch of the second stage of a three-phase emergency plan to reduce gas consumption in the country. Berlin is planning to introduce a "gas-saving auction model," which would allow the country's energy sector to buy gas and, at the same time, reward companies abandoning it.
On 24 February, Russia began a military operation in Ukraine, responding to calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. Ukraine's Western allies responded by imposing comprehensive sanctions against Russia, with the EU pledging to end its dependence on Russian energy supplies. Subsequent disruptions in logistical and financial operations have undermined supply chains and led to a spike in energy prices worldwide.
In this April 9, 2010 file photo, a Russian construction worker speaks on a mobile phone in Portovaya Bay some 170 km (106 miles) northwest of St. Petersburg, Russia, during a ceremony marking the start of construction for the Nord Stream pipeline.
© AP Photo / Dmitry Lovetsky
Russia's Gazprom has also significantly reduced its Nord Stream 1 gas supplies due to delays in maintenance work on turbines by German and Canadian companies, forcing EU countries to tap winter gas reserves and consider returning to coal production.
The European Commission developed the REPowerEU initiative — the bloc's plan to phase out Russian energy sources and increase the use of renewable energy, as well as find other suppliers of energy sources — after Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine. According to the International Energy Agency, the EU imported 155 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia in 2021, which accounts for 45% of the bloc's imports, and 40% of its total consumption.
