EU leaders consider urgent measures to tackle high household energy prices

Energy prices are of concern throughout the EU and have been one of the key topics this Thursday at the European Council summit in Brussels. But with conflicting positions. The heads of State and Government have sought formulas to stop the crisis, derived above all from the war in the Middle East, beyond the perennial consequences on the market also of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In this sense, the president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, has called for a "coordinated" response from all partners.

"Targeted and temporary measures are essential to alleviate the burden and reduce price volatility. In the longer term, we need to continue reducing Europe's dependence on fossil fuels," commented the Portuguese leader. At the same time, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, alleged that Spain is ahead of other partners with an already approved "shield" that has caused, he said, prices to be below other surrounding countries.

In this sense, it has once again shown itself as a firm defender of the current architecture of the community emissions market (ETS) compared to other countries such as Italy that advocate its reform. The prime ministers of Denmark, Sweden and Finland have demanded the same thing: that the requirements of the European emissions trading system be maintained. "Any weakening of the ETS would undermine the predictability on which investment decisions depend and risk slowing the pace of industrial decarbonization," stressed Mette Frederiksen, Petteri Orpo and Ulf Kristersson. "We believe it is important to reaffirm our commitment to market-based climate instruments," they added, defending the ETS as a "reliable" tool.

For their part, according to some diplomatic sources, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Greece have asked at the summit to delay the next phase of this system, in ETS2, until "at least the year 2030." There are countries that at the meeting have considered it "unacceptable" that further delays be considered in this second phase, which Brussels already proposed this Wednesday to postpone until 2028.

The ETS and ETS2 differ mainly in the sectors they regulate and who must pay for CO2 emissions. The ETS, in operation since 2005, affects large industries, electricity production and part of air and maritime transport. Companies must control their emissions and buy allowances to offset them, although some receive certain allowances free of charge.