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Poland’s prime minister said the price of natural gas proposed by the European Commission (EC) is too high and more decisive action is needed by the EU’s executive arm.
“The proposed instrument consists of a safety price ceiling of €275 on the month-ahead TTF derivatives. The Title Transfer Facility (TTF), which is the EU’s most commonly used gas price benchmark, plays a key role in the European wholesale gas market. The mechanism would be triggered automatically when both of the following conditions are met:
the EC proposed on Tuesday. (eeas.europa.eu).
– the front-month TTF derivate settlement price exceeds €275 for two weeks;
– TTF prices are €58 higher than the LNG reference price for 10 consecutive trading days within the two weeks,”
Speaking at a summit of Visegrad Group leaders in Kosice, Slovakia, on Thursday, Mateusz Morawiecki said that “the high price for Russian gas is paid by Ukrainians but also by citizens of Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and all Europeans.”
The prime minister went on to “call on the European Commission to use the instruments at its disposal very quickly”.
He said the proposed gas price was “definitely too high.”
Morawiecki also said that the V4 countries, along with Spain and Greece, had for months proposed a maximum price cap, “at a level acceptable to producers, and especially to gas users.
“In connection with that, we expect a much more decisive proposition on the part of the European Commission,” he said.
Drawing attention to Europe’s inflation crisis, which he blamed on Russia, Morawiecki called for the European Trading System of emissions allowances to be used.
“Let’s freeze the ETS instrument for at least the next two years. It will be a huge relief for this difficult winter season, which is ahead of all Europeans,” he said.