EU Leaders Fail to Agree on Gas Price Cap

EU leaders have failed to agree on a gas price cap following a summit in Brussels. However European Council President Charles Michel said that summit had sent “a clear signal to the market” and pledged that “there will be an effect very soon” from the EU’s moves to alleviate the energy crisis.(RT)

While they failed to find common ground on a gas price cap, the EU leaders suggested that the EU’s joint purchasing power should be used as leverage in negotiations with global suppliers of gas. Joint purchasing would be voluntary for member states, but would require them to buy 15% of the volume needed to fill gas storage through the bloc’s mechanisms.

EU energy ministers are expected to meet next week to discuss solutions to the crisis, which was exacerbated by the fallout from European sanctions on Moscow and the damage of the Nord Stream pipelines.