EU proposes new emergency measures to deal with soaring natural gas prices

On the 18th, the European Commission proposed new emergency measures such as joint purchase of natural gas, implementation of a price limit mechanism for European natural gas benchmark prices, and coordination of energy supply among EU member states to cope with the high natural gas prices in the EU and ensure the safety of energy supply this winter.

According to the new measures, the EU will integrate the demand for natural gas imports and jointly purchase gas to reduce the risk of member states competing with each other in the global market; Before March 2023, establish a new LNG price benchmark and propose a price correction mechanism in the short term to implement dynamic price restrictions on the natural gas transactions of the Netherlands Ownership Transfer Center to prevent extreme price fluctuations in the derivatives market; In case of emergency, help member countries obtain natural gas from other countries.

At the press conference held on the same day, European Commission President Von Delain said that the EU needs to be ready for the coming winter, fill the gas storage, save energy, and find new suppliers. At the same time, it must speed up investment in renewable energy and infrastructure.

Marid McGuinness, member of the European Commission in charge of financial affairs, said that these measures were of great significance to energy operators and the energy derivatives market, and were conducive to the stability of the financial system.

These measures still need to be approved by EU countries. EU leaders will further discuss these measures at the summit to be held from the 20th to the 21st.