EU energy ministers did not reach an agreement on the value of the ceiling and other elements of the mechanism for the adjustment of natural gas prices at the EU level, Romanian Energy Minister Virgil Popescu announced after the extraordinary meeting of the Council of Energy Ministers in Brussels, Agerpress agency reported .

"After two days of discussions and negotiations, the work ended late last night, but we did not reach an agreement on the value of the ceiling and other elements of the natural gas price adjustment mechanism at the EU level," Virgil Popescu wrote on his Facebook page.

Discussions will continue in the next period.

"Romania, together with Spain, Italy, Belgium, Greece, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania and Slovenia, supports a reasonable price ceiling that does not signal to the market an increase in price, but on the contrary - helps to stabilize it at reasonable values. In the coming days we will also negotiate to reach a consensus," the Romanian Minister of Energy emphasized.

The EC proposes a gas price ceiling of 220 euros per megawatt hour

The EU executive proposed capping natural gas prices for a year when prices at the reference gas hub TTF in the Netherlands exceed the level of €275 per megawatt hour for two consecutive weeks and when TTF prices are €58 higher from the average world price of liquefied natural gas over 10 trading days.

Countries such as Belgium, Poland and Italy argue that the cap is necessary to prevent economies from being hit en masse by high energy prices.

On the other side of the table is a small group of EU member states, including Germany, the Netherlands and Austria, who argue that the price cap will force suppliers to sell their gas elsewhere and remove incentives to reduce gas consumption, Agerpress explains. , citing Reuters.

natural gas

price ceiling