Denmark opens price cap on Norwegian gas!

Denmark’s energy minister Dan Jørgensen believes that a general price ceiling for gas can be envisaged. The price cap on gas from Russia is among the crisis measures the EU countries will decide on at the extraordinary meeting of energy ministers in Brussels on Friday.

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But several EU countries are now advocating a price cap on all gas imported into the Union.

Among them is Denmark’s energy minister Dan Jørgensen.

– I am determined that we can look at what we can do with the prices there as well, said Jørgensen on his way into the meeting on Friday.

– But we must be careful not to put Putin and Norway in the same booth.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has slowly but surely cut off gas supplies to Europe. The result is sky-high gas and electricity prices. Photo: Gavriil Grigorov, AP/NTB
Want conversations
Jørgensen emphasizes that the EU will not pursue the same policy towards Norway as towards Putin, but advocates entering into talks with Norway about the price of gas.

Norway is today the largest gas exporter to Europe.

Norway is portrayed as greedy by a recognized magazine
– As the commission also aired thoughts on, it is a very good idea to have conversations with our Norwegian friends about how we can do this in a way that leads to the price also from Norway being of a different nature in the future than it is now, he told the press in Brussels.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo also advocates a general price cap on gas in an interview with Politico on Thursday.

De Croo believes the most important thing the EU can do now is to set such a price ceiling.

– And that must include all types of gas, says De Croo in the interview.

The same message was repeated by Belgian Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten on the way into Friday’s meeting.

– There is certainly a landing zone for a price cap on gas here, she said.

Talked to Støre
Earlier this week, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, presented proposals for five immediate measures to remedy the energy crisis in Europe, including a price cap on gas from Russia.

While Russia was previously the largest gas supplier to Europe, Norway currently holds this position. Only nine percent of Europe’s gas imports now come from Russia.

Several European countries have recently asked Norway to cut the gas price.

In an interview with the Financial Times this week, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) said that Norway is open to discussing all measures the EU comes up with. At the same time, he emphasized that the responsibility for entering into future gas agreements rests with the large energy companies.

We are in an energy war
Russian President Vladimir Putin has slowly but surely cut off gas supplies to Europe since the invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. Last week, Russia’s Gazprom shut down the important Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany.

The result is sky-high gas prices, which in turn have led to sky-high electricity prices across the continent.

– We are in an energy war with Russia, declared the Czech Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Sikela on the way to the crisis meeting between the EU’s energy ministers on Friday.

Sikela paints a gloomy picture of the situation Europe is in with rising gas and electricity prices.

– We are facing a serious energy crisis, said Sikela.

Hoping for a quick solution
The aim of the crisis meeting on Friday is to go through a number of crisis solutions which together can get Europe through the winter. It is the Czech Republic that holds the presidency of the EU Council and thus has called the meeting.

Sikela hopes for rapid progress. According to the Czech minister, the aim is to have a list of recommendations ready for the European Commission within a short time so that the Commission can spend the next few days hammering out a bill, which will then be processed by the member states and the EU Parliament.

When asked when the crisis solutions can be ready, Sikela replies that he wants to have clarity by the end of this month.

– It is important to understand that we cannot waste time, but must act quickly and collectively.

The EU countries are divided
The EU countries disagree on several of the proposals for immediate measures that von der Leyen put forward this week.

Germany and France have backed the proposal to set a kind of income cap for companies that produce electricity at low costs, and distribute the profits to vulnerable consumers.

Poland, Spain and Malta, for their part, are awaiting the proposal from the European Commission to introduce mandatory power saving at a time when power consumption is high.