Doing so would have “far-reaching negative consequences for the stability of European energy markets and the security of supply across the Continent,” they said, arguing it would undermine Europe’s credibility as a gas customer and shift trading outside the bloc.
EU capitals first agreed to the cap, which theoretically set a ceiling on gas imports, as energy prices soared to record highs following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. But the measure, which expired earlier this month, was never activated, as prices never met the required threshold.
The discussion on reviving the cap comes as Brussels gears up to unveil a grand strategy to save the bloc’s struggling carbon-heavy industries on Feb. 26, dubbed the Clean Industrial Deal. Part of that will include a new “action plan on affordable energy” setting out measures to slash power prices.
Energy firms are fearful the gas price cap will be among those measures. Two industry figures familiar with the matter said the cabinet of EU green chief Teresa Ribera wanted to include it in the plan. Ribera, a former energy minister in Spain, was a vocal proponent of the price cap proposal in 2022. A spokesperson for Ribera declined to comment.
With gas prices spiking again, that conversation is taking on fresh urgency. Demand is up amid a cold snap, while Europe also recently lost Russian gas coming through Ukraine. This week, EU gas benchmark futures rose to €58 per megawatt hour — their highest level in two years.
But reviving the measure would reopen a politically toxic debate. Previous talks featured months of infighting between largely free-market countries like the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark — which lobbied hard against the proposal — and the more state-interventionist countries of Greece, Spain and Poland.
