Ursula von der Leyen proposes emergency measures

In his one-hour speech, Wednesday September 14, in Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin), Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, first showed her support for the Ukrainian people. As a consequence of the war, the European Union wants to initiate a reform of the energy market, and reduce the bill which weighs down the purchasing power of Europeans. Facing the deputies, Ursula von der Leyen detailed her scenario for ending the crisis. She wants to decouple the prices of gas and electricity, and contain the profits of energy groups.

“It’s not fair to make extraordinary profits right now through war and on the backs of consumers”, she said. In the line of sight, groups based on renewable energy and nuclear power which produce electricity at a low cost, but sell it at a high price. Their income will be capped. As for the producers of fossil energy, they will be asked for a contribution. The objective is to recover 140 billion euros. States will then be responsible for redistributing this money.