Where does the increase in energy prices come from? Minister Szymanski . explains

The confluence of two components is clearly visible: the practices of the Gazprom market and the key moment in the field of Nord Stream 2 certification; These issues should be the subject of discussions and actions for the European Commission – said Konrad Szymanski, Minister for European Union Affairs on Friday about the reasons for the increase in energy prices.

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Information from Minister Szymanski

The Minister of the European Union, who during the session of the Parliament Committee of the European Union gave information about the upcoming European Council summit scheduled for October 21-22, emphasized that the topic would be dominated, among other things, by the epidemic. Among the topics of the EU leaders’ talks, he touched on vaccination and the participation of third countries in the Covid certification program and the HERA initiative, which aims to better prepare for other crises such as the pandemic crisis.

As the second thematic area, Szymański mentioned the digital dimension, including assumptions of digital policy and the growing number of hybrid attacks.

As the most pressing topic of the talks, the EU minister referred to the increase in energy prices, with which the entire EU is struggling today. He emphasized that apart from objective reasons, including weather conditions and increased gas demand in Asian countries, energy prices are also affected by the EU’s climate policy, and the market for emissions allowances under the practices of ETS and Gazprom.

Today we can clearly see that the filling of storage and gas pipelines on the Russian side is very low; We believe that the European Commission should investigate this issue in terms of fair market practices

– Szymański confirmed.

The convergence of these two elements is clearly visible: the market practices of Gazprom as one of the main suppliers, on the other hand, a very key moment in the field of Nord Stream 2 certification. This issue should be the subject of a very serious discussion, as well as very serious and specific actions by the European Commission

The minister resides.

According to Szymansky, the EU has to draw conclusions from higher energy prices mainly in terms of improvement – equivalent to 40% of the price hike – the emissions trading system.

Immigration policy is also among the topics of the summit

Among the topics of the EU summit, the minister also referred to migration policy, in particular the discussion of work on the Convention on Migration and Asylum and drawing conclusions from the situation at the EU’s eastern borders.

It is clear that immigration can be an element of pressure, if not a mixed war, directed not necessarily against certain countries of the European Union, but against the entire European Union.

Note Szymański.

Our long-standing emphasis on the fact that the minimum conditions for conducting any policy in the field of immigration are effective border control, effective prevention of illegal immigration at the external borders of the European Union – this view is bitterly confirmed today in development. From the events on our eastern border

– added.

Other topics of talks included trade policy, improving trade relations with the United States, and foreign relations, including the ASEM (European Union – Asia) summit in November and the Eastern Partnership summit, as well as preparations for the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.

High energy prices in Europe

Europe, like many other regions of the world, is currently experiencing high energy prices. The main reason for this is the increase in global demand for energy, in particular gas, in connection with the increasing dynamics of the economic recovery after the peak period of the Covid-19 epidemic. The price of carbon dioxide emissions in the European Union also rose by leaps and bounds in 2021, but less than the price of gas. According to estimates by the European Commission, the effect of an increase in the price of gas on the price of electricity is nine times greater than the effect of an increase in the price of carbon dioxide emissions.

Environment Commissioner Virginius Synchvicius announced on Wednesday that the European Commission will have a new proposal on energy efficiency in December. Among the elements of the proposal, he mentioned, among others, improving the energy performance of buildings. According to Synkvichos, the new proposals should double the pace of building renovation in the EU.

Please / PAP