BRUSSELS— A looming energy crisis facing Europe overshadowed a
meeting of EU ministers on Wednesday, with participants describing the
situation — being felt globally — as "critical".
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The continent faces soaring power prices as its economy recovers from the COVID-19
pandemic and as winter approaches while natural gas reserves are at a worrying
low level.
A profound EU transformation towards a low-carbon future, phasing out fossil
fuels, is adding to the pressure on the bloc's market and households.
"It's a crucial time about energy. And this is the first time that
at the same place at the same time and the same table we see ministers of
energy and transport together," said Slovenian Infrastructure Minister
Jernej Vrtovec.
He hosted the regular meeting of the EU energy ministers, held just outside
Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, which currently holds the rotating European
Union presidency.
Vrtovec said they would debate the impact of climbing energy prices —
particularly benchmark gas prices that have tripled this year to a record level
— which he stressed are "not OK for our economy and our citizens".
The EU energy commissioner, Kadri Simson, said that Brussels was
"monitoring the situation very clearly".
"It is clear that, in the current situation, Europe needs to invest in
renewables, because they are really offering an alternative on our dependence
on imports of fossil fuels," she said.
Lithuanian Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys called it "a critical
time" and urged "important cooperation we need at the European level
to protect ourselves at home".
Austrian Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler pointed to the "high
dependency on Russian gas" as the underlying problem for supplies.
Gazprom supplies
A group of more than 40 members of the European Parliament has written a
letter accusing Russia's Gazprom of manipulating gas prices for Europe.
They see a diminishing flow of
Russian gas through Ukraine as an attempt by
Moscow to force Germany to approve activation of a newly completed gas pipeline
through the Baltic Sea, Nord Stream 2. Gazprom denies the accusation.
S&P Global, a US financial and business analysis firm, said in a note
last week that Gazprom's storage tanks in Europe were "almost empty and it
is thought to be waiting for Nord Stream 2 to start up in order to fill them
over the winter".
"European storage levels as a whole will remain a major concern heading
into the winter," it said.
While the EU is struggling, the situation is far worse in former EU member
Britain, where wholesale energy prices are outstripping even those soaring in
the rest of Europe.
At least four British consumer energy suppliers have gone bust and others
are teetering, unable to raise bills to households because of a mandated price
cap. Poor energy production from wind sources and a fire that has knocked out a
UK converter station bringing energy from France have compounded the problem.
The United States is also seeing an increase in energy prices but is largely
shielded because of gas production from its shale fields.
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