Brussels, Aug. 26, (dpa/GNA) - EU energy ministers are to gather for an “urgent” meeting amid surging prices across the European Union, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Friday.
The Czech Republic announced the meeting “to discuss specific emergency measures to address the energy situation,” Fiala said on Twitter.
A Czech spokesperson said an exact date would be announced at a later stage. The Czech Republic is currently chairing the rotating six-month EU presidency that directs the bloc’s policy agenda.
EU member states have grappled with surging energy prices for the last six months in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has throttled gas deliveries to Europe, especially Germany, citing maintenance and repair issues to a pipeline – and stopped supplies entirely to other EU member states – viewed as the Kremlin’s retaliation for Western sanctions imposed over the Ukraine war.
Prompted by fears of a cut-off of Russian supplies, EU member states agreed to a gas conservation plan to ensure emergency transfers to member states who face shortages if supplies fall to critical levels.
Even before the war in Ukraine, EU energy ministers had been struggling to tackle energy prices as wholesale prices for natural gas soared and the price of electricity rose.
EU member states previously agreed on a series of relief measures, including lowering taxes, direct payments to vulnerable households and state aid for small businesses.
Spain and France have previously urged more dramatic interventions. Paris for example has called for an overhaul of the system for electricity pricing in Europe.
GNA