Media: the introduction of a gas price ceiling will only exacerbate Europe’s problems

MOSCOW, 7 Oct — PRIME. The introduction of a gas price ceiling would be the wrong answer to the ongoing energy crisis in Europe and will only exacerbate the problems of the continent, says Bloomberg columnist Andreas Kluth.

In his opinion, against the backdrop of the energy crisis, European politicians do not have the luxury of just sitting and waiting. “EU leaders feel they must do something – anything, right now, before winter,” he wrote.

Kluth believes that the decision that European leaders are leaning towards “is likely to exacerbate the continent’s problems.”

“Against the backdrop of all the crazy prices around us, the most outrageous are the current tariffs for natural gas. Therefore, the European Commission, being under pressure from most EU countries, proposes to limit gas prices,” he said.

The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has previously stated the need to introduce a price ceiling for Russian gas. At the end of August, she announced that the European Commission is working on prompt and long-term measures to improve the situation against the backdrop of rising electricity prices in the EU, which mainly depend on the cost of blue fuel. However, at the end of September, the energy ministers of the EU countries did not agree on the introduction of a price ceiling for gas from Russia; according to Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, “several large, strong European countries” were against it.