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Pedro Sanchez steps up pressure on European partners to stop ”absolutely unreasonable upgrade“Electricity and gas prices, Things have worsened since Russia invaded Ukraine. The president of the government announced on Friday that next week he will start visiting capitals with the goal of reaching a European agreement to end “energy extortion” What is he doing Vladimir Putin against the EU.
Sanchez re-emphasized the urgency of reforming the electricity price system because “we are in Emergency situations“This has affected the competitiveness of the industry, and household purchasing power. The President of the Government wishes “European class” solution at the next summit will be held in Brussels from March 24th to 25th.
“Over the next week I will be visiting different European countries and talking to different leaders so that together we can come up with a proposal to stop this absolutely unreasonable increase in electricity and gas prices. So we can all be among the Protect industry, SMEs and our citizens from the energy blackmail that Putin intends to impose For the EU as a whole,” Sanchez said at the end of an informal summit in Versailles on Friday.
It was at this meeting that the Prime Minister concluded his first meeting with his partner, despite He did not want to specify which countries he would visit. Sanchez is backed by member states such as France, Italy or Greece, which have also called for urgent reforms to the electricity market. acrossGermany, the Netherlands and the Nordics oppose the changes on the grounds that they could end up making things worse.
“There are many productive sectors in the European economy, so in Spain, due to Out-of-sync design with our energy markets and prices”Sanchez insisted. In his view, the top priority should be to reduce the “contagion effect” of the uncontrolled rise in gas prices on electricity bills.
The current marginal design of the European electricity market means it is the most expensive technology (currently natural gas), which sets the wholesale price of electricity.
“We have to review how prices are formed in our continental energy market. Because for a while, it’s obviously not been effective in dealing with the pressures on electricity prices, but obviously The situation has worsened since the invasion of Ukraine‘ said the president.
Brussels accepts Spain’s request
At the national level, The government has exhausted all possible measuresSanchez assured. Among them, extend the “important package of tax cuts or cessation” until at least June, or extend protections to the most vulnerable consumers. “We will do everything within the power of the Spanish government to defend our economy and our citizens,” he insisted.
The government president also used the Versailles summit to ask the EU to join Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, Funding to improve gas connectivity between the peninsula and the rest of Europe. Some interconnections that Spain can exercise Alternative hub for Russian gas He said that was thanks to a large number of regasification plants and renewable energy.
in the case of the chairman of the committee, Ursula Von der Leyenannounced end of March plan “presenting Options to limit contagion effects Natural gas prices increase”. In the second phase, in mid-May, the community executive committee will also approve “options to optimize the design of the electricity market to better support the green transition.”
Community executives initially received lukewarm calls for Spain to reform the pricing system. Indeed, Energy Commissioner Kadri Simsen sided with Germany and the Nordic countries on the grounds that: Proposals from Spain and France will increase risk of blackouts. But the war in Ukraine caused a complete turnaround in Von der Leyen, Getting closer to Sanchez’s idea.