Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Romania and Cyprus said at a meeting of EU energy ministers that they support Greece’s proposal to start the debate on a new pan-European electricity market model
Greece, at the extraordinary meeting of the Council of Energy Ministers of the EU, achieved the exemption it requested for the calculation of reduction in natural gas consumptionwhile at the same meeting Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Romania and Cyprus stated that they support Greece’s proposal to start the discussion on a new pan-European model in the electricity market.
These result from the briefing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for today’s meeting of the Energy Council, in which the ministers agreed on a new regulation for the voluntary reduction of the EU’s natural gas consumption, by at least 15% compared to the average consumption of the previous five years. In addition, a strengthened EU alert mechanism (EU Alert) was agreed, which could be activated, in the event of a severe gas storage shortage or extremely high gas demand, by establishing a mandatory reduction target of 15%.
The Greek side requested and succeeded in including in the text the provision that, exceptionally in article 2 and article 5, allows the calculation of the reduction in natural gas consumption in relation, not to the average of the last five years, but compared to the previous one year.
In addition, Greece, together with Spain, Italy and Portugal, succeeded in including a provision whereby, in the event of an emergency in the electricity generation sector, the quantities of natural gas used by power plants can be excluded from the calculation , critical for system stability.
At the same time, the recital makes a clear reference to the investigation – by the European Commission – of the feasibility of introducing temporary gas price caps, to optimize the operation of the European electricity market, as proposed by the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, at a previous European Council of Leaders.
Mr. Skrekas pointed out: “Today’s agreement sends a strong and decisive message of unity and solidarity of the EU. against Russian blackmail. Today, we have reached a regulation that examines the particular circumstances of each country and serves the primary objective of the EU, that of reducing dependence on Russian natural gas, in a way that does not endanger social cohesion and productive base of Europe”.
The minister presented the proposal submitted by the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to the President of the European Commission for the creation of a voluntary mechanism, through which industrial consumers will be compensated for the reduction in the use of natural gas and electricity.
Mr. Skrekas referred in detail to the innovative mechanism implemented by Greece, for the benefit of the citizens and which binds the excess revenues of the electricity production companies, while he presented the impressive results of the mechanism during the first days of its operation.
The Greek side submitted a proposal to the Council of Energy Ministers for a new pan-European electricity market design model with the aim of decoupling natural gas prices from electricity prices. By implementing this model, affordable energy prices are ensured for European households and small and medium-sized enterprises. Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Romania and Cyprus supported Greece’s proposal to start the debate on a new pan-European electricity market model.
RES-EMP
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