EU leaders to discuss energy, economy at meeting

By Busra Nur Cakmak

ANKARA (AA) - EU leaders will discuss energy and economy at the two-day European Council meeting, EU commission head said Thursday.

At her doorstep statement, Ursula von der Leyen said measures to tame gas prices and support the economy will be discussed by the leaders of the EU member states at the meeting.

“If we look at the start of Russia's atrocious war against Ukraine, since today, we can see that Russia has cut deliberately two thirds of its gas supplies to the European Union,” said von der Leyen.

“We've been able to compensate in the last eight months by diversifying away from Russia to reliable suppliers, we have saved minus 15%. We have been able to fill our storages and we have deployed more renewable energy,” she added.

The commission came with a “substantial package” that will be discussed at the meeting, said von der Leyen, adding that two points will dominate the discussion.

“The first one is how are we able to tame the gas prices, mainly the spikes and the manipulation by Russia. Here two models are on the table … that one is at TTF level, so, wholesale level and the other one is decoupling the gas partially from the electricity prices,” she said.

“And then there is a second topic that is very important, that is how can we support our economy all over Europe, everywhere in Europe,” she added.

She said investing in homegrown energy sources is very important in terms of independence and supply security.

At his doorstep statement, EU Council head Charles Michel said “it's very important to send a very strong signal that we are determined to work together to have a positive impact."

"It is fundamental for our households, for families and for the businesses across the EU,” he added.