After a four-hour meeting in Brussels on Friday, ministers said they wanted the European Commission to propose urgent interventions to tackle the EU’s energy crisis. Energy prices have soared as Moscow began cutting gas flows to the bloc in response to Western support for Ukraine. “Ministers agreed that current electricity and gas price levels are putting pressure on inflation and the EU economy, threatening the competitiveness of European companies and creating social tensions,” said a statement released by the Czech Republic, which exercises the rotating presidency of the European Council. . “There is a prevailing opinion about the countries we need [a gas price cap] as an emergency measure,” said Czech Energy Minister Jozef Síkela. However, he warned that more work needed to be done on the potential impact because “it is from a market perspective the most difficult case”. Ministers gathered to discuss nine proposals put forward by the Czech presidency. Other measures presented were reductions in electricity demand and the extension of state aid rules to allow for quick interventions such as bailing out power producers. One senior diplomat said he was surprised by the level of consensus among ministers: “I’m surprised, but I think the gravity of the situation has made them want to do something.” The European Commission had signaled a preference for a cap on Russian gas prices only, but several EU diplomats said this was not supported by member states that still rely on Russia for a significant portion of their supplies and fear retaliation from Moscow with form further supply cuts. Cadre Simpson, the EU’s energy commissioner, said a blanket cap on natural gas prices could threaten supply. “There is very strong competition in [liquefied natural gas] market and now it is very important to replace the declining Russian volumes with alternative suppliers”. Another diplomat said that while there was agreement among most member states on the gas price cap, few had agreed on whether it should apply to pipeline gas, all gas imports or wholesale prices. “It’s a mess,” said the diplomat. According to a diplomat, the Commission on Friday asked Italy, Greece and Belgium – which are pushing for an overall cap on natural gas prices – to submit concrete proposals to implement the measure. Pressure on governments to tackle rising energy prices has intensified as the winter heating season approaches, with many companies and consumers facing hugely inflated prices when they renew contracts in the coming weeks. Last year, the EU imported 155 billion cubic meters of Russian gas, 40 percent of its total supply. This has fallen to 9% since Moscow “indefinitely” cut off supplies through the critical Nord Stream 1 pipeline, according to the Commission. Gas prices in Europe are now more than 10 times the average of what they have been in the last decade. The energy squeeze has been exacerbated by a drop in hydropower generation as a result of drier conditions in Europe this summer and significant cuts in French nuclear power generation.

The commission this week recommended that governments impose a revenue tax on energy companies that do not use natural gas to generate power. Non-gas producers enjoy huge profits because electricity prices are tied to the price of natural gas. Ministers also called on Brussels to take steps to coordinate reductions in peak electricity use across the bloc and plan changes to increasingly stringent safety requirements on power exchanges that have pushed some power companies close to bankruptcy. The committee will work on the ministers’ requests over the weekend and present proposals to member states ahead of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s annual speech on Wednesday. Ministers will then have to meet again to approve the committee’s proposals before they become law. Video: How Putin held Europe hostage over energy | FT power source