MNI BRIEF: EU Summit To Look At Joint Energy Buys, State Aid

EU leaders will look at ways to boost natural gas storage and joint procurement of oil and gas as well as move to facilitate state aid for businesses hit by higher energy costs in their March 24-25 summit discussions, officials said on Tuesday.

The European Commission will finalise proposals on energy independence on Wednesday, after ministers gave support to plans to boost EU storage facilities and to fill energy storage capacity by 95% by November, EU Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic told reporters.

The EU will also launch a Taskforce on joint purchases of energy, Sefcovic said, pointing to the EU’s success with joint vaccine purchases during the pandemic.

“Europe should use its enormous weight when it comes to negotiating energy prices and supplies of gas to the EU,” Sefcovic said.

Proposals for emergency price ceilings for energy met with resistance from some states, notably The Netherlands, officials said.

The Commission also looks set to approve a Temporary State Aid Framework to protect the competitiveness of EU businesses hit by the surge in energy prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, along the lines of measures adopted by the EU during the pandemic.