From the price cap issue to gas, aid and support for Ukraine. On the table at the Prague summit in preparation for the European Council. “Now is the time to discuss how to limit spikes in energy prices and Putin’s manipulation. The second important thing to discuss is the level playing field, that is, that companies in each country have the same opportunity to participate in the single market, with equity. The third point is the RePower, and how to upgrade it. There will be no decisions today, as it is an informal Council but is in preparation for the October Council ». This was stated by the president of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, arriving at Prague Castle, before attending the informal European Council. Today, she adds, “no decisions are expected”, but an “important first step” should be taken in view of the formal summit of 20-21 October in Brussels. “Today we will discuss where and how to put” the roofs, to “limit price peaks and Putin’s manipulations,” she concludes.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mario Draghi has arrived at Prague Castle. Support for Ukraine, the inflation dossier and the energy crisis are the main issues on the summit table, to which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will link.
And on aid to Ukraine the president of the Eurochamber Roberta Metsola underlines: «Ukraine needs heavy weapons and tanks. The member states can provide “the weapons” given that Russia has implemented a new escalation to its invasion making it more desperate and we must respond in a proportionate manner “.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala also expressed his full support for Ukraine: “We must find sources to help Ukraine both economically and militarily.” According to Fiala, «Ukraine is not fighting only for itself but for the security of the whole continent. Europe has promised the financial aid of 9 billion euros which has not yet been fully provided, and this is what we need to talk about today ”. The Bohemian leader also added that aid in the conflict “must be permanent”.
But the question of war is inevitably linked to energy crisis: «It is a very important challenge to face – says the President of the European Council Charles Michel -. Without written conclusions we can take steps in the right direction to identify and decide perhaps closing on three issues: how we can reduce demand, act on supplies and prices, because there is enormous pressure on families, on their businesses. For the economic development of the EU it is essential to be able to resolve this issue, we have no right to waste time, it is not an option to waste time and we must decide as soon as possible “.
But the issue of the gas price cap continues to divide European countries: “The price cap is not the only issue because we could introduce it but no longer receive energy since we are not the only customers in the world – declares the Luxembourg prime minister. Xavier Bettel -. We have to be very careful about the decisions we make, which sound good on paper but whose consequences could be problematic ». Bettel continued: “I am open to all solutions, the fact that we want to act jointly on prices is what matters.”
Another problem is the disproportion between the economies of individual EU countries: “When the supply goes down, we have to lower the demand, otherwise we spend a lot of money off the budget to cover the difference. We need common solutions that work in the long term – Says Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas -. The countries with the most money pay the others and this is to the detriment of the internal market ».
Italy is one of the most affected countries given its lack of energy independence and, to mitigate the impact of prices, together with 14 other Member States, it shared the need for a natural gas price cap on European markets, to restore proper functioning. of the fuel market whose costs also affect those of electricity and inflation in general. With regard to the war in Ukraine, the focus will be on the united responses of the European Union. A note released by Palazzo Chigi states that Italy will continue to ensure full support for Ukraine and its people in all dimensions (political, military, humanitarian, financial, in reconstruction and in the European perspective) and to firmly support its integrity territorial, its full independence and sovereignty.
The conflict upset international equilibrium and broke the traditional neutralist doctrine of many states, including Finland. The premier of the Scandinavian country Sanna Marin expressed a very clear position during the summit at Prague Castle: «The way out of the conflict is for Russia to leave Ukraine. This is the way out of the war ». The words of the Finnish premier are not accidental: they commented on the statements of American President Joe Biden, who said that the US is trying to figure out which is a way out of the war for Vladimir Putin, given that the risk of an “Armageddon »Nuclear power is at its peak since the missile crisis in Cuba in 1962, when the United States and the USSR risked open war.
The president of the European Parliament Metsola also addressed the problem of inflation, calling it “unsustainable”: “War and energy prices mean inflation and higher costs. Inflation is one of the major short-term challenges: in September it reached 10% in the euro area ». She added: “People expect us to respond and we have to be able to do it together – she continued – every solution has a price, we have to be honest. We need to make sure that budgets are fit for purpose and not shy away from a revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-27, where it is needed. We have to move faster on our own resources, we need a sustainable revenue stream ».
