European leaders were close to a consensus on a gas-pricing system that should lead to price caps, Spain’s Energy Minister said. Consensus may be reached around an alternative benchmark price to the Dutch Title Transfer Facility. EU leaders may reach some agreement by the time they meet later in October. Loading Something is loading.
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European leaders were getting closer to a consensus on a gas-pricing system that should lead to price caps, Spain’s energy minister told Reuters, part of the bloc’s efforts to reduce energy prices in the wake of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The leaders were nearing a consensus on an alternative benchmark price to the Dutch Title Transfer Facility, or TTF, gas price, Teresa Ribera, Spain’s energy chief, told Reuters in an interview published Friday.
The benchmark would be a basket of indicators that allows the European Union to “have something that adapts in a flexible way. It is not an absolute fixed price,” adding that the system would act as a cap.
EU leaders may be able to craft some kind of agreement when they meet in Brussels on October 20-21, AP reported Friday. European heads of state met Thursday in Prague to discuss energy and security issues that have increased in their degree of urgency since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly eight months ago.
With winter fast approaching, EU countries have been trying to sort out their differences over a potential cap on natural gas prices. Regional natural gas prices during 2022 had spiked higher by more than 400% as Russia cut off gas supplies throughout Europe following sanctions imposed on Moscow for launching a war against Ukraine.
The EU this week reached an agreement for an eighth round of sanctions against Russia.