Spain needs to urgently reform the EU electricity market beyond fiscal adjustment

Brussels, March 17 Teresa Ribera, vice president of the Spanish government, today called on the European Commission to propose an “urgent and immediate” reform of the electricity market to prevent gas prices from being transferred to electricity bills. The country does not respond unilaterally. “If the Commission does not respond in time to what can be found in individual member states, it is doing what it wants under unsustainable pressure from society.And there are 27 solutions that I think would be the worst case scenario for the European Union and the Commission instead of supporting everyone who is less evil.” Ribera told the press. A week after the summit of EU leaders in Brussels, where Russia's dependence on energy and hydrocarbons and electricity prices will be an important part of the agenda, the Minister of Ecological Change urged “not to waste time already lost to face an unrivaled situation.” “If we do not separate the relationship between gas costs and electricity costs, there seems to be no limit to how much electricity prices can rise if we do not intervene.” He said. Ribera, who participated in the media as a member of the Council of EU Environment Ministers, thought that in light of this European summit, there would not be enough measures not to deal with the reform of the electricity market. “There are proposals that fit what already exists, without touching anything else. This means that member states can introduce government interest rates on excessive profits from energy companies as a result of gas prices and add flexibility to state aid,” he said. “We have been working for decades to build an internal market that can withstand the expansion of this type of measures for too long and guarantee equal opportunities for all sectors (...) Since we do not have a budget that can be distorted, we can see that it is an unsustainable answer over time, so this proposal has its limitations.” He added. He reiterated that Spain has maintained the same “goal” and discourse that “it has been able to maintain the price of energy products in a reasonable range” since the rise in gas prices began just a year ago. In this regard, the Spanish incumbent welcomed the fact that “within a year a very important development of the European Commission and the majority of member states took place”. Regarding the documents presented by the community management, Rivera said: “It can be seen that many long-requested proposals are reflected,” this document opens up opportunities for countries to regain the special benefits of the electric sky and to equalize families and industries in danger of extinction. “It is not yet clear how the Commission will present its analysis, whether it will do so with a list of proposals to be discussed, whether specific proposals should be selected, and to what extent measures will be introduced that allow immediate implementation,” he warned. “We are suspending single market rules or special regulations in parallel with the governments of other member states, those who are more sensitive and who are closer to our position and who are averse to the possibility of taking action. This exemption period, even if it is temporary,” he concluded. jaf/asian/alf (Photo) (Video) (For more information about the European Union, please visit Europe.euractiv.es)