EU leaders unlikely to agree quick fix to energy crisis at Brussels talks

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Several EU leaders have warned against hasty intervention to address the unprecedented energy crisis, suggesting that pleas for immediate actions from some of the bloc’s poorer countries would go unheeded.

Record power and gas prices are the first topic for EU leaders in their two-day summit in Brussels, but the bloc’s ability to act is extremely limited. 

While most countries have already cut taxes or approved subsidies to help households and companies, some want new measures on emissions, power and gas, or seek scaling down ambitious climate reforms.

“We need to distinguish significantly from the challenge we face in the fight on climate,” German chancellor Angela Merkel said before the meeting. 

I think that we should react in a level-headed way.”

The energy crunch is exacerbating divisions among member states at a time when the 27 nations are starting crucial talks about how to decarbonise their economies under the Green Deal. 

The EU wants to lead the global fight against climate change and set an example for other major emitters such as the US and China, but this summit will underline how far apart the members are in agreeing on their own energy transition.

The current crisis is making things worse in the short term, pitting countries in the south and the east of Europe against the wealthier — and often more climate-ambitious — members in the north, who argue the hike is temporary and has nothing to do with European green policies.

Bloomberg

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