In the night between Thursday and Friday in Brussels he really did his best Prime Minister Mario Draghi (backed by French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Council President Charles Michel) to convince the other partners that an extraordinary council in July on the so-called "price cup” for gas it was absolutely essential.
Scholz: We could also lose the other 50% of the gas
At first, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had not opposed it in principle but in the end he would have expressed all his fears for a possible Russian reaction on new reductions in gas supplies. “But do you realize – Draghi would have said – that we are paying the same money to get half of the gas from Moscow as we did a few months ago? Only Italy has gone from 40% of supplies to 25%”. “We know it well – was Scholz's reply – but there is the risk that Russia will also block the other half of the gas”.
Rutte worried about his holidays
Similar concerns also on the part of the Dutch premier Mark Rutte even if in the corridors of Justus Lipsius the rumor circulated among diplomats according to which Rutte was more than anything else worried about having to give up your holidays in the event of an extraordinary summit. Since July is the traditional month for the summer holidays for Northern European countries, a bit like August here. The fact is that the Commission, in order not to repeat the conclusions of the May summit but bearing in mind the resistance of some countries, has undertaken to prepare a proposal by September on all the problems of energy from gas to renewables on which the 27 will decide at the October summit.
If the situation worsens, an extraordinary summit is inevitable
Ma isn't it a little too late? was asked Dragons at the press conference. “Of course – replied the Prime Minister – it could be late. Especially if other things happen on the energy front. But the European Council was open about this: if the situation were to worsen, it is clear that there will be an extraordinary Council. It has been explicitly said, it's not like we're standing there letting two and a half months go by without doing anything". According to Draghi, the price cap “is the thing that anyone suggests doing in this situation. Towards Russia the EU has a market power that it must exercise through the price cap. It doesn't do it because there is fear on the part of some that Russia will cut gas supplies even more. But that has already happened."
Price caps are also discussed at the G7 (but for crude oil)
Certainly Draghi will aim to keep the issue hot from Sunday at the G7 summit at Schloss Elmau in Germany by doing leverage the American position expressed by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in favor of a price cap for the price of crude oil.
EU more attractive but divisions remain on gas
In short, Europe which, according to Draghi, has accomplished with the Ukrainian crisis a real "identity leap" in its external dimension, becoming increasingly attractive for countries such as Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, however, it risks coming to terms with a lack of unity on central issues that have remained unresolved for some time (common policy in the energy field as in the fiscal one).
Draghi's worries about the risk of inflation
Draghi is also worried about the effects that the price of gas could have on the recovery of inflation. “We are preparing precisely for this winter – observes Draghi – the measures that are being thought of in Italy ensure that there is emergency during the winter. All the studies I've seen so far give a picture that, thanks to the search for other suppliers, from the point of view of volumes we are in a good position". “We – added Draghi – were very quick in the very first days of the beginning of the war: we assured a network of suppliers in Italy and we are relatively optimistic that all this can fully compensate for Russian gas imports within a year, a year and a half. However, the results are visible even now and are better than expected."
