On Friday, EU energy ministers will work to create a unified response to the energy shock caused by Russia’s assault on Ukraine, which has driven up the cost of heating and electricity.
Natural gas prices have reached record highs as a result of Moscow’s invasion, leaving the EU economy in serious doubt as everyone waits to see if Russian President Vladimir Putin will completely shut off the energy supply.
Prior to the war, 40% of the EU’s gas imports originated in Russia, with the majority of the supply going to Germany, the bloc’s economic powerhouse, which is currently rushing to find new means to heat homes and power factories.
The ministers convening in Brussels will be asked by the European Commission, the EU’s administration, to take into consideration a number of extremely complicated measures intended to lighten the load.
The main focus will be on finding measures to help businesses and households that are having trouble making ends meet.
The EU executive will put up a method that would split windfall profits made as a result of high electric power costs among non-gas electricity providers, such as nuclear, solar, or renewable energy companies.
Because of the strong relationship between the market price of electricity and the price of gas in Europe, utilities that do not use gas are making a killing while businesses who must pay for gas struggle.
The massive profits that fossil fuel companies made from the inflated energy costs would also be taxed.
Leonore Gewessler, Austria’s energy minister, stated in advance of the talks that there needs to be a “conversation without reservations” over a prospective solidarity tax on “energy businesses that make windfall profits in times of war.”
