Ursula von der Leyen may pull back on Russian gas price cap, leaked document suggests

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen is set to give the annual state of the union speech this morning. Photo: Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP

The EU Commission appears to be retreating from imposing a price cap on Russian gas, but pushing ahead with windfall taxes on energy company “surplus” profits, according to a leaked document.

A draft regulation on the “electricity emergency tool” seen by the Guardian contains neither a price cap on Russian gas nor on imported gas, after member states were unable to agree on restrictions last week. The EU is expected to levy windfall taxes on the high profits of fossil fuel companies, with a separate cap on revenues of low-carbon electricity producers.