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By PTI
BRUSSELS: The European Union’s executive arm on Wednesday proposed that all natural gas storage facilities in the 27-nation bloc be topped up to at least 80 per cent capacity for next winter as it sought to reduce its reliance on Russian energy in the future.
On the eve of a two-day summit of EU leaders, the European Commission said the bloc must quickly revamp its energy policy before next winter and that another price crisis will leave millions of EU citizens with bills they cannot pay.
However, energy experts say filling reserves when the natural gas market is tight will mean higher prices for consumers.
EU leaders have already vowed to wean the bloc off its dependence on Russian energy by 2027, but tangible measures still have to be put in place.
On top of mandatory high storage levels, the commission also wants EU nations to agree to the joint purchase of natural gas and liquefied natural gas that will be similar to its system of buying COVID-19 vaccines in huge quantities for equitable distribution.
The draft conclusions of the summit obtained by The Associated Press include that “with a view to next winter, Member States and the Commission will urgently, work together on the joint purchase of gas, LNG and hydrogen”.
The details of such a deal would still need to be worked out.
The EU imports 90 per cent of the natural gas used to generate electricity, heat homes and supply industry, with Russia supplying almost 40 per cent of EU gas and a quarter of its oil.
Increased gas storage should help alleviate dependency.
Currently, up to 30 per cent of consumption during a winter comes from storage.
After demanding a level of 80 per cent capacity this year, the commission wants it to go to 90 per cent next year.
To ensure the storage facilities could not be controlled by foreign interests that could manipulate prices and volume, the commission wants there to be a certification system “to address essential security interests”.
In Germany, for example, Russia’s Gazprom owns several storage facilities.
The German government is in the process of passing a law requiring the storage facilities to be filled to capacity by the winter to prevent any manipulation with storage volumes.
To deal with runaway energy prices, several nations are looking at imposing price caps on gas, saying the market conditions have become unhinged from reality, but Germany and the Netherlands have raised objections, fearing suppliers would simply sell elsewhere.
“I say this quite openly,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the German parliament, “there will be no removal of market mechanisms or permanent subsidies, particularly for fossil fuels. This would not be fiscally sustainable, and ecologically it would give the completely wrong incentives”.
On the eve of the summit however, a high-level French official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government policy said Paris considered it an option “we are looking into with interest”.
In its communication, the commission said such capping “can give an important signal that the EU will not pay any price for gas but such an intervention should only be envisaged as last resort, as it entails some drawbacks in terms of security of supply of gas flows”.
The European Union announced moves Wednesday to help its member states assist the millions of refugees fleeing Russia’s war on Ukraine in accessing schools for their children, healthcare, accommodation and work.
European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said the EU’s executive arm also is working to protect vulnerable refugees, particularly unaccompanied children, from exploitation.
The United Nations says more than 3.5 million people, mainly women and children, have fled Ukraine in the month since Russian tanks rolled across the border and Moscow began relentlessly bombarding towns and cities.
European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas said the new raft of measures aims to build on a, Temporary Protection Directive issued earlier this month and on initiatives happening across Europe to welcome refugees.
“We will translate the goodwill of Europeans into practical help for the millions forced to leave their homes,” he said.
The protection system, established in 2001 in response to the fallout from the 1990s Balkan wars but never previously used, streamlines entry procedures for Ukrainians arriving in the EU and outlines entitlements such as employment and housing.
Wednesday’s announcement provides support for EU countries in meeting those commitments.
The commission is freeing up 3.4 billion euros (USD 3.7 billion) to help fund the measures, but it was not immediately clear how and where the money will be spent.
“There has been a remarkable outpour of support all across the European Union with ordinary citizens and the private sector, offering accommodation places, but this is not sustainable in the long term and without our support,” Schinas said.
The new measures include a “Solidarity Platform” that will help coordinate the work of national governments and EU agencies and facilitate the movement of refugees between countries that can house them in the EU and other countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom, which already have large Ukrainian communities.
Johansson said the measures will include establishing procedures for safely transporting unaccompanied children, amid signs that criminals could already be preying on them and on other refugees.
“Unfortunately, we have some signs of cars waiting to pick people up, women and children, vulnerable people,” she said.
“We have some indications on online services that the demand for Ukrainian women for sexual purposes has gone up. And we know that Ukrainians were in the top five citizens for trafficking human beings already before the war, so this is a huge risk.”
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