The EU announced on Monday that it was preparing "an emergency intervention" in the electricity market to limit Europeans' bills, and is working on "a structural reform" in order to stem the rise in prices, under pressure from the Member States.
Such a reform of the common electricity market, demanded for a long time by France but which divided the Twenty-Seven, will be on the menu on September 9 in Brussels for a meeting of EU energy ministers, which should also consider the proposal by several States of a price cap.
“The surge in electricity prices clearly shows the limits of the current functioning of the market. It had been designed in a very different context,” acknowledged Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, during a conference in Bled, Slovenia. "That is why we are currently working on emergency intervention and structural reform of the market", where electricity prices are closely correlated to gas prices, she added, without further ado. details.
The Czech Republic, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Council until the end of the year, is proposing an extraordinary meeting of energy ministers. The subject of the decoupling of the price of gas and electricity should be on the agenda. This decoupling is among others demanded by the Austrian Chancellor, Karl Nehammer, who called on Sunday August 28 the 27 “to unite to immediately stop the explosion of prices”.
For their part, Berlin and Paris are also seeking to cushion the shock at the national level. The ruling Social Democratic Party in Germany is preparing to present new measures. According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the SPD is considering, for example, direct aid to low-income households or the integration of heating costs into housing aid.
Last Friday, the price of a megawatt hour in France exceeded 1,000 euros against 85 euros a year ago. Energy vouchers will again be distributed next year to low-income households. The government also promises that there will be no catch-up in 2023 after the end of this year's "price shield" which provided for a cap on the price of electricity.
In Italy, the word "bollette", "invoices" in Italian, is thus on the lips of all entrepreneurs and merchants, reports our correspondent in Rome, Anne le Nir. Alfonso Sacchi, owner of the Roman restaurant-pizzeria, Taverna Le Coppelle, no longer knows how to make ends meet. “I have seen a considerable increase in electricity bills. I paid 1,700 euros per month on average, now I have to pay 3,400 euros per month. As for wood for the pizza oven, its price jumped from 19 to 27 euros per 100 kilos. At this point, it does not suit me to continue. Should I put the key under the door? »