The Diplomat
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, highlighted yesterday, at the end of the European Council, the new mandate of the leaders of the 27 EU Member States for the Energy Ministers to reach a definitive agreement on the gas price cap on December 19.
Sánchez participated yesterday in the European Council, held in Brussels (the last one under the Czech Presidency of the EU Council) and which addressed, among other issues, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the situation of the economy and the energy crisis, transatlantic relations and the Southern Neighborhood.
During the meeting, the 27 approved a ninth package of sanctions against Russia, a decision that “strikes an even more precise blow against Putin’s regime, while trying to preserve global food security, a concern shared by many Member States,” according to Pedro Sánchez. European leaders also agreed on a major macro-financial assistance package to Ukraine of €18 billion. “We have reaffirmed our unreserved support for Ukraine in all areas: political, economic, humanitarian and military,” said the head of the Executive during the press conference following the Council.
With regard to energy, the President of the Government recalled that, at the October European Council, “a mandate had already been given to the Commission and the Council to implement a dynamic price corridor to immediately limit episodes of excessive natural gas prices”. Almost two months later, and in the absence of definitive results following last Tuesday’s Extraordinary Energy Council, European leaders yesterday gave clear guidance on the key elements of the package, such as, for example, the concept of “excessive pricing”. The objective of this mandate, according to Moncloa, is that the Energy Ministers can reach a final agreement next Monday, December 19.
Regarding the current economic situation, according to Sánchez, the 27 showed consensus on the need to continue working to guarantee Europe’s industrial competitiveness and reduce strategic dependencies and reported that, in line with the letter sent last Tuesday by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to the European leaders, the 27 yesterday asked the Commission “to present in the first months of 2023 a Plan to improve the global competitiveness of our industry, attract greater investment in strategic sectors and respond in an appropriate manner to the US Inflation Reduction Act”. In addition, Sánchez defended the need to improve the State aid framework “to make it more flexible and less bureaucratic”.
