The leaders discussed the war in Ukraine on Thursday with US President Joe Biden, but on Friday turned their attention to dealing with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis on the continent. The summit lasted hours longer than originally planned, as the leaders split into two camps supporting different paths forward. Despite Biden’s commitment on Friday morning to send more liquefied natural gas to Europe to replace Russian supplies, some leaders want the EU to play a more active role in controlling prices. Energy costs have surpassed the ceiling since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, further pushing a market that has already been inflated by demand that restarts after the Covid lockdown. Spain, Italy and Belgium have argued that the European Commission should consider possible market interventions, such as price caps. But more free-market governments, such as the Netherlands and Germany, have opposed such a move. After an exhaustive meeting described by diplomats as “difficult”, a compromise was reached that included a reference to price caps and called on the Commission to consider ways to reduce prices. However, the main aspect of the plans will be for EU countries to work together on the common gas market on a voluntary basis, in an effort to reduce prices. The plan hopes to use the EU’s collective purchasing power to reach a better agreement with producers. “The main cause of high electricity prices is, to a large extent, high and volatile gas prices,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after the meeting. “So we will join forces, concentrate our demand and use our collective bargaining power when we buy gas. In addition, we need to complete the pipeline infrastructure and strengthen our storage. This will be our insurance against interruption of supply. It’s also time to look at the design of our energy market. “ He said Spain and Portugal would also be given “special treatment” to introduce their own measures, which their governments would announce within the coming weeks. Ms von der Leyen justified this different approach on the grounds that countries produced a lot of electricity from renewable energy sources. Both countries were among the strongest supporters of full price caps. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who also advocated a more interventionist approach, told a news conference after the EU summit: “We have managed to include in the conclusions an explicit reference to the gas price caps, among other options. which we call on the Commission to consider declining prices. “ He downplayed the length of the debate, which he described as “minor tensions” and added: “We will intervene together as the European Union and break the game of speculators, we will not pay for the war in Russia.” Explaining the measures, French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters: “We have seen some countries go to other countries to negotiate their own contracts, which, I told my colleagues, is not the best way, as we push prices up. . “As we move towards European diversification, it is much more important that discussions on new contracts, such as Norway, Qatar or the United States, be able to negotiate en masse and volume. “It’s much better for us.” The official leaders’ conclusions agreed by the leaders say that there is an “urgent need” for the European Commission to further explore policies, including “direct consumer support through coupons, tax rebates, state aid, taxation, price caps and regulations”. measures such as contracts for disputes “. The 27 states say they want Brussels to return them and “make proposals that effectively tackle the problem of excessive electricity prices while maintaining the integrity of the single market, maintaining green transition incentives, maintaining security of supply and avoiding disproportionate budgets.” Court fees”. Under an agreement announced Friday morning ahead of horse trading on price caps, Joe Biden has promised that the United States will deliver at least 15 billion cubic meters (bcm) more liquefied natural gas to Europe than previously planned. . The agreement was reached by the US President and EU leaders at the meeting, which was attended by the Democratic politician after the NATO summit in the same city. The agreement also stipulates that the US is committed to increasing gas supplies by 2023. “We intend to reduce this dependence on Russian fossil fuels and get rid of them. “This can only be achieved through … additional gas supplies, including LNG deliveries,” von der Leyen told a joint news conference with Biden in the Belgian capital. “We Europeans want to differentiate ourselves from Russia, to suppliers we trust, who are our friends, who are reliable. “Therefore, the US commitment to provide the European Union with at least an additional 15 billion cubic meters of LNG this year is a big step in that direction, because it will replace the LNG supply we are currently receiving from Russia.” The US president told the same group of journalists: “We are concentrating on reducing Europe’s dependence on Russian energy. “We must not subsidize Putin’s brutal attack on Ukraine.” Gas prices have skyrocketed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and some countries, such as Germany and Italy, are heavily dependent on Russian supplies. The German government has already disconnected a planned gas pipeline called Nordstream 2, which critics say will increase dependence on a supply controlled by Vladimir Putin’s regime.
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March 24, 2022
Britain’s Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge ride in a vintage Land Rover used by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth during her visit to Jamaica Reuters
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March 23, 2022
The moon sets behind the summit of Great Giewont in the Tatra Mountains, in Zakopane, southern Poland EPA
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March 22, 2022
A man holds his breath while swimming in a hot spring on the occasion of World Water Day outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia EPA
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March 21, 2022
Students hold white balloons during a protest against violence following recent incidents between Thai rangers and suspected separatists in the Ra-ngae area of southern Thai province of Narathiwat AFP / Getty
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March 20, 2022
Festival participants known as “Gilles”, wearing traditional costumes and ostrich feather hats, dress up for carnival celebrations in the streets of Strepy Bracquegnies, Belgium. EPA
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March 19, 2022
Guests dressed in period costumes walk near the Gate of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City in Beijing AP
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March 18, 2022
The twins are getting ready for a newborn photo shoot by local photographer Fanny Nurdiana in Banda Aceh AFP / Getty
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March 17, 2022
President Joe Biden Meets Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin at the White House Oval Office in Washington AP
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March 16, 2022
The moon sets behind a statue of William Penn at the top of Philadelphia City Hall AP
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March 15, 2022
Indian Widows Participate in Holi Festival in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India EPA
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March 14, 2022
A farmer works in a poppy field in the Zhari district of Kandahar AFP / Getty
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March 13, 2022
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shakes hands with a wounded man during a visit to a military hospital after fighting in the Kiev region Getty
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March 12, 2022
‘Drown it !!!’ says the slogan of a carnival float showing a depiction of Russian President Putin as he swallows an object in the shape and national colors of Ukraine EPA
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March 11, 2022
A young man bids farewell to his girlfriend at Kiev Central Railway Station as she tries to leave Kyiv, Ukraine EPA
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March 10, 2022
The ride package in the 5th stage of the 80th cycling race Paris – Nice AFP / Getty
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March 9, 2022
Houses flooded by an overflowing Hawkesbury River are pictured in Sydney’s Windsor suburb. AFP via Getty Images
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March 8, 2022
People guard against fireworks before the traditional “torito” (little bull) made of paper, wood and fireworks during San Juan de Dios celebrations in Tultepec on the outskirts of Mexico City AFP via Getty Images
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March 7, 2022
People cross the damaged bridge as they leave the front line of the city of Irpin, in the Kiev region, Ukraine EPA
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March 6, 2022
A local resident reacts as a house is burned after a heavy bombardment on the only escape route used by locals to leave the city of Irpin, as Russian troops advance on the capital, 24 km from Kyiv, Ukraine. Reuters
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March 5, 2022
Austria’s Roman Rabl competes in men’s downhill cross-country skiing during the 2022 Beijing Paralympic Winter Games in Yanking OIS / IOC / AFP / Getty
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March 4, 2022
People remove personal belongings from a burning house after bombings in the city of Irpin, outside Kyiv AFP / Getty
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March 3, 2022
An aerial view shows a residential building destroyed by bombing as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine, in the settlement of Borodyanka in the Kiev region Reuters
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March 2, 2022
A man with his newborn child finds shelter in the basement of a perinatal center as the siren sounds of an air raid amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Kyiv Reuters
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March 1, 2022
Members of a Ukrainian civil defense unit pass new rifles on the opposite side of a blown bridge on the northern front of Kiev AFP / Getty
