EU energy ministers fail to agree on Russian gas price cap: Hungary FM
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Yet again, energy ministers of the EU countries fail to reach an agreement on the maximum price for gas.
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Oil production in Western Canada (The Canadian Press)
The foreign minister of Hungary, Peter Szijjarto, said bilateral discussions on a gas price cap are still ongoing after the Council of EU Energy Ministers in Brussels failed to reach an agreement.
"There was a big discussion at the Energy Council, no agreement could be reached at the plenary meeting, so the continuation is taking place in a bilateral format. Czech Industry Minister Josef Sikela presides, I can only tell him that the gas price cap is a bad idea," Szijjarto said on social media.
He stated that if Brussels suggested such a bad idea as a gas price cap, it was "badly coping" with the energy situation in Europe.
This comes after Russia's intention to respond to the West's introduction of a price cap on oil by a decree in the coming days, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
"I want to remind you that in Bishkek, [Russian] President [Vladimir Putin] said that there would be a relevant decree, and the president also said that there are still some aspects that are being discussed. In the coming days, this discussion will be finalized and already institutionalized in the form of a presidential decree," Peskov told reporters when asked if Moscow was ready to respond to the introduction of a price cap.
The European Union reached an agreement on December 1 on setting a price cap on Russian oil at $60 per barrel, which went into effect last Monday.
The cap will be reviewed every two months to remain at 5% below the International Energy Agency benchmark. The G7 nations and Australia also agreed that same day to set a $60 price ceiling on oil from Russia.
Starting from February 5, 2023, the European Union will be introducing a price cap for Russian refined products as well.
