The energy ministers of the European Union reached a general agreement on joint gas procurement by 2023, Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Sikela said on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th October, 2022) The energy ministers of the European Union reached a general agreement on joint gas procurement by 2023, Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Sikela said on Wednesday.
"I am very glad that there is general agreement among the ministers on the need to move towards joint procurement of gas by 2023," Sikela said at a press conference following an informal meeting of EU energy ministers in Prague.
Since 2021, energy prices in EU countries have been surging as part of a global trend. After the beginning of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in February 2022 and the adoption of several packages of sanctions against Moscow by the EU, energy prices have accelerated the growth, placing energy security high both on the global and national agenda, and pushing many European governments to resort to contingency measures. The EU has been looking for alternatives to Russian natural gas as it has pledged to end its dependence on energy supplies from Russia.
At the end of September, the energy ministers of 15 EU countries sent a joint appeal to the European Commission in which they advocated the introduction of a price cap for all gas imports into the EU, regardless of its origin.
