Five European countries call for probe into soaring gas prices as they continue to smash historic highs
France, Spain, Czechia, Romania and Greece are calling for an investigation into the causes of the record-high growth of gas prices on the continent, according to a joint statement published by Bloomberg’s Javier Blas on Twitter.
“Regarding gas, the functioning of the European gas market should be investigated to understand why current gas contracts have been insufficient,” says the statement, a copy of which has been tweeted by Blas, Bloomberg’s chief energy correspondent.
Also on rt.com Launch of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline could bring European gas prices down to historic lows – Saxo BankThe price of gas in Europe broke new record highs on Wednesday, rising sharply to above $1,900 per 1,000 cubic meters at the opening of trading. According to data from the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the price of November futures on the TTF hub in the Netherlands at 8:28am GMT jumped to $1,936 per 1,000 cubic meters, or $186 per megawatt-hour.
The five states urge the EU to set up common rules on gas reserves to control prices, proposing to boost coordination in gas purchases.
“We should also build common guidelines on gas storage to mitigate and smooth price increases [and] better coordinate our gas purchases to increase our bargaining power,” the statement continues.
Also on rt.com European gas prices push higher as winter season approachesThe group also calls for reform in Europe’s electricity market to improve the connection between the cost of electricity generation and its price for households, noting that this is “especially important as decarbonisation will increase the use of electricity in our economy.”
The states reportedly say that, in the long term, Europe should focus on reducing its dependence on gas-exporting countries “by investing in the diversification of our energy supply,” suggesting low-carbon energies like biomass, wind and solar energy as an alternative to gas and coal.
The document indicates that the statement is a joint product of the ministers of economy and finance of the five listed countries. However, the published copy is not dated.
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