Hi Marc, has calm returned after US President Biden’s visit to Brussels yesterday?
“Americans are always thorough with their president’s security. With the arrival of Biden, who joined NATO on Thursday and then the EU summit, the normal security measures at these kinds of summits were considerably tightened. When the president arrived on Wednesday evening, the airspace was already closed for an hour. From the American embassy to the NATO building and to the EU building, the roads had been cleared: parked cars, bicycles and electric scooters had been removed. Helicopters circled over the city all day.
“It’s over today. For an EU summit, a security circle is drawn around the Europa building in which the meeting takes place. You can only get in there with passes. Traffic and metro transport is not possible within that circle.’
The 27 heads of government of the European Union are meeting again today. What’s on their meeting agenda?
‘They mainly talk about the high energy prices. Another item on the agenda is security and defense. Leaders will ask the European Commission for an overview of defense investment deficits. After that, some economic issues are discussed, such as how to keep the internal market going in these difficult times. Food security is also gradually becoming an issue.
What do you expect from the debate on energy prices?
‘That debate is going to be very intense. There are simply no simple solutions to lower the price of gas and electricity. In the design conclusions, which are on the table this morning, the leaders are trying to save the cabbage and the goat. Gas and electricity must remain affordable; the integrity of the internal market must be preserved; the price mechanism should not be tampered with too much; it should all be green too; energy security must not be endangered and it must not cost too much money.’
So the play area is small. How far apart are the players?
‘All leaders find the high prices for gas and electricity a disaster. But the question of what to do about it is deeply divisive. Opinions not only differ, they are also very strong.
‘Two things come together in the discussion. On the one hand, energy prices are already high. The southern countries in particular want a price ceiling and a different way of calculating the price of electricity. The northern countries are not interested in that.
‘In addition, prices are under even more pressure. Some countries, such as the Baltic States and Poland, want to completely stop importing Russian gas, oil and coal. That would drive the price up even further. Bulgaria, Austria, Romania and Germany are not waiting for that at all. They are highly dependent on gas from Russia. Prime Minister Rutte also warns against hasty steps.
“Ultimately, all 27 leaders have to agree with the final conclusions. They should all be able to come home with the message: “Look, I’ve got something done”. Getting that unanimity is no easy matter.’
Is joint purchasing of gas still on the table as an option?
“The leaders are expected to speak out on the joint procurement on a voluntary basis. So you don’t have to participate. If the EU countries make joint agreements with gas suppliers other than Russia, they can negotiate lower prices as a major buyer. It resembles the vaccine model from the corona crisis. In doing so, the Commission conducted negotiations with the vaccine makers. Each country then decided for itself how many vaccines it wanted to purchase.’
Can we in the Netherlands notice something concrete about what will be discussed on Friday?
“Not overnight. If the EU is going to make agreements about the purchase of gas, the effect – lower prices – will be visible in months at the earliest. Other options – a ceiling for the consumer price for gas or another way to determine the electricity price – were not included in the design conclusions. I don’t expect those options to come out of the meeting yet. But you don’t know for sure: it will be a very hard debate.’