Consensus cannot hide inherent differences, EU energy crisis remains unsolved

Since the escalation of the Ukraine crisis, the EU and the United States have imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Russia, but the backlash

from the sanctions has plunged Europe into an energy crisis. In the recently concluded EU autumn summit, how to deal with the energy crisis is one of the important topics. Although theEU leaders at the meeting reached consensus on a number of emergency energy measures, there are still serious differences on the overall energy policy.

Reach a partial consensus

Leaders of EU member states reached consensus on a number of emergency energy measures and a "temporary price cap on natural gas used for power generation" when they attended the EU's autumn summit in late October.

According to reports, the leaders of France, Spain and Portugal issued a joint statement agreeing to build a "green energy corridor" connectingthe Iberian Peninsula and France to transport renewable energy such as hydrogen and natural gas. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez pointed out that the "green energy corridor" will help open up the European energy market to ease the current energy crisis in Europe.

Regarding energy infrastructure projects, France, Spain and Portugal originally had differences. The three countries have now agreed to build a"green energy corridor", showing that EU countries have reached a certain degree of consensus on dealing with the energy crisis.

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said it was "good news" that "a historic obstacle" between the three countries had been overcome. French President Emmanuel Macron said the new plan, which strikes a balance between the real need to increase Europe's natural gas supply andthe long-term goal of tackling climate change, is an "important moment of European solidarity".

The joint statement said the construction of the pipeline was "the most direct and efficient option" to connect the Iberian Peninsula with centralEurope.

The timetable and funding sources for the construction of the pipeline are not yet known. However, the leaders of the three countries agreed tomeet in Alicante,Spain, in early December to discuss the construction period, funding and other details of the pipeline project.

In addition, before the start of this summit, the EU and the North African country Morocco reached a green energy agreement aimed at strengthening coopera-tion in the field of renewable energy.

Overall disagreement

Although EU member states have reached consensus on issues such as "implementing a temporary price limit on natural gas used for power generation", due to the firm opposition of Germany, the Netherlands and other countries, the key issue of whether to impose a price limit on imported natural gas remains at this summit. big differences. EU energy ministers had to meet again on the 25th to discuss the issue.

On the issue of natural gas price caps, the meeting of energy ministers of EU member states has still not come to a conclusion. Czech Industry and Trade Minister Sikla, who holds the rotating EU presidency, acknowledged that EU countries "still have quite different views" on the implementation of natural gas price caps. Hungarian Foreign Minister Sijardo said that the most important thing at present is to ensure the security of energy supply, and Hungary will not accept any proposal that may make the situation in the country worse.

In response to high natural gas prices, the European Commission has previously proposed measures such as a price cap on European natural gas benchmark prices and joint natural gas purchases. These measures are subject to the approval of EU countries. Issues are fraught.

According to reports, at least 15 of the 27 EU member states believe that a ceiling on natural gas prices is needed, while a number of countries led by Germany are opposed to the implementation of price caps on natural gas.

Countries such as Germany and the Netherlands believe that the European Union's imposition of price caps on natural gas may lead to natural gas being sold to other regions, while also reducing the incentives of the EU people to save natural gas, which will ultimately only further aggravate the European energy supply crisis.

The EU said it would hold a meeting in late November to continue discussions on the issue.

In addition, Hungarian Prime Minister Orban revealed during the summit that the EU has agreed that Hungary does not need to participate in the EU-level joint natural gas procurement plan, and the gas supply contract signed by Hungary and Russia will not be affected. Hungary will be exempt even if the EU eventually decides to cap the price of imported gas.

Hard to find a fundamental solution

The outside world generally believes that behind the partial consensus on the energy issue reached at this EU summit, there are more inherent differences within the EU.

For example, on the issue of energy subsidies, Finland and Slovakia have different views. Andrei Stancik, State Secretary of the Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs, believes that long-term market reforms should be carried out to decouple the price of electricity from natural gas from those of other energy sources, and the EU should provide direct subsidies to consumers and businesses. Finnish Minister of European Affairs Titi Tupleinen said that Finland is ready to limit the price of natural gas "temporarily", but opposed the payment of subsidies to consumers. "Instead of subsidizing individual households, it is better to increase investment in green energy."

Due to the different energy needs, dependence on suppliers and energy structure of EU member states, and different adjustment capabilities, there have always been differences in the overall energy policy within the EU.

Recently, the head of the International Energy Agency Birol said that the world is in the "first real global energy crisis", and the current global energy market still needs energy from Russia to meet demand. Rising global energy prices are driving soaring prices for things like food and services in many parts of the world. Continued high energy prices and supply shortages will be a persistent risk for Europeans as the northern hemisphere enters winter. He said that if this winter is a mild winter, Europe may be able to survive this winter, but Europe will still pay a huge price for energy shortages.

European public opinion said that the energy crisis once again highlighted the inherent shortcomings of the EU's inefficiency in decision-making and "deliberation without resolution" in case of problems. At the same time, it also made it clear to the outside world that EU countries have widely divergent interests due to different energy structures and other reasons. .

Public opinion believes that in the case of continuous sanctions against Russia and the inability to fully guarantee energy supply, the EU may find it difficult to find a fundamental response to the crisis.