Brussels criticised for reacting too slowly as energy crisis unfolds
There is “cognitive dissonance” between national governments facing public pressure to tackle rising energy bills and the slow reaction from the European Commission, which is not directly accountable to the electorate, the energy advisor of an EU country told EURACTIV.
The scathing criticism came as energy ministers from the 27-country bloc are meeting on Friday (9 September) to discuss ways of reducing soaring energy bills for European households and businesses.
It echoes comments from Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, who said there is not a day to lose in tackling the crisis.
“The Commission has wasted time and that is regrettable,” he said over the weekend.
In EU capitals, leaders are under huge pressure to lower gas and electricity bills, which have surged on the back of Russia’s war in Ukraine and falling gas deliveries to Europe.
“Prices keep on rising,” a senior EU diplomat said. “Pressure is also rising to make an extra effort,” he commented ahead of today’s extraordinary ministerial meeting.
Over the past week, the European Commission has hastily put several ideas on the table, including a price cap on gas imported from Russia, a demand reduction target for electricity usage at peak consumption times and a “revenue limit” for energy firms making windfall profits from the crisis.
But these are only at early draft stage and should have been tabled much earlier, the government advisor said, expressing concern about the looming political fallout from the energy crisis.
“Whether it will be enough to contain the public rage about prices remains to be seen,” he told EURACTIV.
“I’m really afraid we are behind the wave on this. The public would probably trust us more if we had taken those measures in May.”
Last weekend, an estimated 70,000 people protested in Prague against the Czech government, calling on the ruling coalition to do more to control soaring energy prices and voicing opposition to the EU and NATO.
EU energy ministers will discuss the measures laid out by the Commission at an emergency meeting on Friday (9 September).
Unless tangible results come out quickly, “a year from now there will be less than half of the ministers from the Council tomorrow at the table again,” warned the energy advisor.
Diplomats said the European Commission has been tone deaf in preparations for today’s meeting, and sought to delay it until the end of September, a full month after it was convened by Czechia, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency. The reason for seeking a delay was because EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson was travelling to India this week.
Criticisms about the Commission’s handling of the crisis have also come from industry.
Sanjeev Kumar from the European Geothermal Energy Council told EURACTIV that Europe should have learnt from the success of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and prioritised cross-EU purchasing of renewable energy and energy efficiency technology early this year.
“The rhetoric has been quick. But the actual hard and fast actions have been far too slow,” he said.
Asked by EURACTIV about these criticisms, the European Commission pointed to comments made by its chief spokesperson Eric Mamer on Monday (5 September).
“I believe that we are firmly on track and, once again, that what we will put on the table for the discussion will be all the more helpful because we have taken the time to analyse all the different dimensions of this issue,” the chief spokesperson said.
Some also support the Commission in taking the time to do an in-depth analysis of the emergency measures given the complexity of the energy market.
“We have to consider not only the possible positive implications in the social and economic dimension by the proposed price caps, but also think of the market outcomes that are most likely to happen,” European People’s Party lawmaker Christian Ehler told EURACTIV.
EU countries split on crisis measures
Despite the pressure on EU capitals, energy ministers are not expected to make final decisions on Friday as the European Commission has yet to table formal legislative proposals.
“We have issued a non-paper, which sets out the basic ideas that we want to carry through,” said Eric Mamer, the European Commission’s chief spokesperson.
“A very important step will come tomorrow with the Energy Council, during which we will have an opportunity to discuss with ministers before we finalise our proposals,” he told a regular press briefing on Thursday (8 September).
EU countries still differ in their recommended approaches to the crisis, diplomats said.
While coordinated measures would strengthen the EU’s position towards Russia and avoid disruptions to the EU market, Europe needs to act carefully because countries have different energy mixes, a senior diplomat explained.
Finland, Sweden and Denmark have already thrown their weight behind the EU executive’s plan, with a joint letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen from the countries’ prime ministers on Wednesday (7 September).
Several other countries have said they are open-minded about the options but are also cautious about making major changes to Europe’s energy market without proper analysis and the assurance that it will not derail EU climate goals.
And, while a large group of capitals are favourable to capping gas prices, there is disagreement on how to implement such a measure at EU level.
The European Commission favours putting a price cap on Russian gas only, while Italy and Belgium say it should apply to all gas imported into Europe.
Others are opposed to a price cap on Russian gas because of the possible repercussions, an EU diplomat said. Russia has threatened to stop supplying energy to Europe if a price cap comes into force and there is concern among eastern and southern EU countries, which would be particularly affected by a cut-off.
Vienna said it would not agree to the proposal because it could jeopardise security of supply.
Proposals due next week
The next step after today’s ministerial is for the Commission to come up with formal legislative proposals, presumably on Tuesday (13 September).
“We will table the proposal probably next Tuesday, depending on progress, and ministers tomorrow will not decide anything either,” Mamer said.
The quickest way to get the proposals through would be to use emergency Council Regulations, similar to the demand reduction target for gas, which were adopted in less than a week at the end of July.
This would only require a qualified majority of EU countries to pass the measures.
However, some are questioning whether the Commission’s proposed price cap on Russian gas could be seen as a sanction, which would require unanimity. Hungary, for one, opposed the demand reduction target in July and may not want to jeapordise its cheap Russian gas contracts.
[Edited by Frédéric Simon]