The European Commission may waive competition regulation in order to let EU nations put caps on gas prices for consumers if Russian gas supplies stop, German newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported on Saturday.
According to the commission document on “short-term energy market interventions,” seen by the media, EU member states should be allowed to regulate prices for a transitional period to protect consumers from spiking.
“The financing of this intervention requires significant sums,” the document reportedly reads.Earlier this year, Brussels warned that putting caps on wholesale gas prices would evoke challenges, undermining efforts to shift to green energy.
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The Commission is planning to reveal a detailed draft aimed at quitting Russian fossil fuels as early as this month. The five-year plan forms part of Western sanctions imposed on Russia, which supplies 40% of the EU’s gas, in response to the military operation in Ukraine.
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