Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Aug 10, 2025

The European Union makes final push for gas price cap deal this year

The European Union makes final push for gas price cap deal this year

European Union nations’ energy ministers meet in Brussels on Monday in an effort to agree a cap on gas prices, an emergency measure that has split opinion across the bloc as it seeks to tame the energy crisis.
National leaders last week urged their ministers to approve the cap on Monday to finalize a policy that has been debated for months without agreement despite two emergency meetings.They are now considering a new compromise proposed by the Czech Republic, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency.

The draft, seen by Reuters, would trigger a cap if prices on the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) gas hub’s front-month contract exceed 188 euros per megawatt hour for three days - far lower than the 275 eur/MWh originally proposed by the European Commission last month.

Roughly a dozen countries, including Belgium, Poland and Greece, have demanded a cap below 200 eur/MWh to tackle the high gas prices that have inflated citizens’ energy bills and stoked record-high inflation this year after Russia cut off most of its gas deliveries to Europe.

“This is about our energy future. It’s about energy security. It’s about how we have affordable prices, that we avoid de-industrialization,” said Belgian energy minister Tinne Van der Straeten.

But Germany, the Netherlands and Austria fear the cap could disrupt Europe’s energy markets and divert much-needed gas cargoes away from the EU. They have sought tighter conditions, such as an automatic suspension of the cap if it has unintended negative consequences.

“Nobody in Germany is against low gas prices, but we know we have to be very careful not to wish for the good but to do bad,” said German economy minister Robert Habeck.

Two senior EU diplomats said that pro-cap countries now appear to have enough support to approve the measure without the backing of Germany, Europe’s biggest economy and gas market.

If that happened, “we’d have to live with it,” Habeck said.

Under the latest proposal, once triggered, the EU cap would prevent trades being done on the front-month to front-year TTF contracts at a price more than 35 eur/MWh above a reference level comprising liquefied natural gas (LNG) price assessments.

The EU price cap would not drop below 188 eur/MWh, even if the LNG price fell to far lower levels. If the LNG reference price increased to higher levels, then the EU cap would move with it, while remaining 35 eur/MWh above the LNG price - a system designed to ensure the bloc can bid above market prices to attract scarce fuel.

The fate of other EU energy policies is tied to the cap.

Countries have twice delayed approval of faster renewable energy permits, pending a deal on the cap.

Ministers will also attempt to approve their negotiating position on a new EU law to cut planet-warming methane emissions. Documents seen by Reuters show some countries are seeking to weaken the proposed rules.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
×