Energie: accord de l’UE sur une “feuille de route” qui reste à décliner

European Union leaders agreed overnight from Thursday to Friday on a “roadmap” aimed at setting out, in the coming weeks, measures aimed at curbing rising energy prices.

The war in Ukraine and the sanctions imposed on Russia have caused shocks in oil, gas and electricity prices. But since February, Europe has reacted slowly, weakened by the divergent interests of member states.

If, after difficult negotiations, the bloc wanted to present a united front, many points remain to be decided and the negotiations in the coming weeks promise to be difficult.

“We now have a very good roadmap”, underlined the President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen, while the President of the European Council Charles Michel spoke of “an agreement on a package of measures”, which must now be “handled in a good way”. “.

But German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has made it clear that if energy ministers cannot agree on a final version, a new summit of heads of state will be needed.

“Message to the Markets”

According to French President Emmanuel Macron, the envisaged mechanisms can be implemented “at the end of October, at the beginning of November”. He felt the leaders had “sent a very clear signal to the markets of (their) determination and (their) unity.

According to the conclusions drawn at the end of the meeting, the heads of state and government ask the Commission to present “urgently” “concrete decisions” for a series of measures, including interventions to mitigate the volatility of gas prices.

Twenty-seven have agreed to promote joint gas purchases at EU level, with the idea that they remain “voluntary” but cover at least a “mandatory” target level of 15% of the gas stockpile targets. EU for winter 2023.

They also called for “acceleration of its negotiations” with “credible” manufacturing countries such as Norway and the United States, to “take advantage of the overall economic weight” of the EU rather than compete in the world market with risks that drive price fever.

In addition to a measure to control the wholesale price of natural gas transactions, leaders are also seeking a specific project for a “temporary” mechanism to cap the price of gas used to generate electricity – a device already in place . in Spain and Portugal, and which France was calling for to be extended across the EU.

But, in a concession made to Germany, this mechanism will have to be accompanied by protective measures to “avoid any increase in gas consumption”. It would also have to prevent the EU from subsidizing electricity that would eventually be exported to neighboring countries (Norway, United Kingdom, Switzerland, etc.).

– Macron/Scholz, appeasement –

Asked about the Franco-German couple, the engine of European cooperation that seems to be broken, Mr. Macron claimed that his one-on-one meeting with the German chancellor had made it possible to “clarify many things.”

A few hours earlier, he had sensed that Berlin was playing a single game, seeming to blame the Germans for Europe’s woes.

“I don’t think it is good for Germany or for Europe that it isolates itself (…). Our role is to do everything for European unity and for Germany to be a part of it,” he said.

“It is very clear that Germany has always acted in a very united way,” replied Olaf Scholz.

The chancellor was accused of selfishness after announcing at the end of September a support plan of 200 billion euros for the German economy, not coordinated with its partners.

It was without consulting Berlin that Paris on Thursday announced an infrastructure project after years of deadlock: France, Spain and Portugal announced a deal to replace the MidCat pipeline project with an underwater pipeline between Barcelona and Marseille, intended to transport gas and then green. hydrogen.

Originally launched in 2003, this MidCat (for Midi-Catalonia) project was championed by Lisbon, Madrid and Berlin, but ran into opposition from Paris. It aimed to connect the French and Spanish gas networks via a 190km pipeline running from Hostalric, north of Barcelona, ​​to Barbaira, east of Carcassonne, via the Pyrenees.

In the middle of the night, after a dozen hours of negotiations between the 27, Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz played the appeasement, the latter especially evoking an “intense and fruitful” relationship. The two men will meet in Paris on Wednesday.

bur-jca/south/elm

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