One after the other, the governments of the EU countries are planning new measures to support households with the aim of curbing punctuality.
The forecasts for this winter can only be considered auspicious, with the wave of precision continuing to plague households and the energy crisis now a given. At the same time, European citizens see their electricity bills getting more and more inflated.
As wholesale gas and electricity prices have soared, millions of people in Europe now spend a very large proportion of their income on energy. Therefore, one after the other European governments are planning the adoption of new measures to support households with the aim of curbing inflation and high inflation.
The Czech presidency is organizing an extraordinary meeting of energy ministers
The prime minister of the Czech Republic, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union this semester, said today that his country will convene an emergency meeting to deal with the energy crisis linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Czech presidency "will convene an emergency meeting of energy ministers to discuss concrete emergency measures to address the situation in the energy sector," Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in a tweet.
The decision, approved by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, comes as the 27 EU member states try to reduce their dependence on Russian oil and gas.
Dwindling supplies and concern about the future have caused energy prices to skyrocket in Europe.
Czech Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Sikelá said the European Energy Council should be convened "as soon as possible".
"We are in an energy war with Russia and this is hurting the whole of the EU," he said.
The decision of the Czech presidency was welcomed by Italy, with the deputy finance minister looking for 20 to 25 billion euros to cover energy price increases. The money can be found, either by derailing the budget, or by increasing the deficit. With the elections just around the corner, the leader of the League, Matteo Salvini, does not even rule out the possibility that the next government will impose rationing on the consumption of electricity and natural gas.
Help for French households will continue to be provided by the country's government, with the Finance Minister talking about limited increases in electricity prices.
The construction of two new reactors at the Paks nuclear plant by 2030 by the Russian nuclear energy giant Rosatom is planned by the government of Hungary, with the aim of energy sufficiency in the country.
Germany: Preparing the nationalization of Gazprom Germania
The German government has created a holding company to take over the eventual nationalization of Gazprom Germania, the Russian energy giant's subsidiary in Germany, which was practically abandoned in April, according to a report published in today's Welt am Sonntag newspaper. .
Germany's energy watchdog had assured in April that it would manage the company, which trades, stores and transports gas, in the interests of Germany and Europe.
The holding company, codenamed Securing Energy for Europe Holding GmbH (SEEHG), will be responsible for the company's investments, the Welt report noted, citing a government document.
It will be led by two lawyers from CMS Hasche Sigle, the newspaper added.
The law firm declined to comment, citing confidentiality obligations.
Germany's economy ministry said it is aware of the establishment of the holding company, clarifying that it is a precautionary measure in view of a possible restructuring of Gazprom's German subsidiary.
This is a "completely precautionary" scheme that is currently just an empty "corporate legal shell", a ministry spokesman explained to Velt am Zodtag.
The new support measures at TIF
The countdown to the completion of the drafting of the TIF package that will be announced by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has already begun, while much will be decided in the first week of September, when three important facts about the course of the Greek economy will be known.
On the table are a series of proposals both for measures of a permanent nature, as well as for measures that support households and businesses against punctuality.
One of the measures that is gaining ground is the accuracy check. A targeted measure that will help vulnerable social groups, which are under greater pressure from accuracy and inflationary pressures.
The main scenarios considered are the following:
- Increase in the minimum wage: The prime minister is expected to give the direction for an increase in the minimum wage, without specifying it, since there are specific procedures, which he would not want to overdo under any circumstances. Information wants the minimum wage to be set at pre-memorandum levels, i.e. at 751 euros, from 713 euros which it is today.
- Increase in pensions: From January 1, 2023, it is estimated that there will be increases in pensions which, according to Labor Minister Kostis Hatzidakis, will concern all pensioners.
- Solidarity levy: The draft of the new budget, which will be submitted to the Parliament in the first week of October, will include, among other things, the abolition of the solidarity levy for civil servants and pensioners.
- Accuracy check: For 2022, the granting of a new accuracy check is being considered, in order to support the low pensioners, the unemployed and those who belong to the category of vulnerable social groups.
- Reduction of the Pretense Fee: There are scenarios for a 50% reduction of the pretense fee at a cost of 200 million euros for the state coffers, but it is one of the measures that will be judged in paragraph five and depending on the course of public finances.
- Fuel Pass 3: In the event that fuel prices remain at high levels, there will be a new round of aid.
It is noted that Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas in his televised interview with SKAI said that support measures are coming for 700,000 households that use natural gas, stressing that "we will support natural gas consumers this winter in the face of explosive price increases".
For the month of September, he noted that the government will allocate 1.9 billion euros to support households, of which, as he specified, 1.2 billion will come from the new mechanism for recovering surpluses from the power generation companies, which they go to the Energy Transition Fund and are then given to subsidize households.
"'We have committed to recover 80% to 90% of the increase in households and businesses. For September we are absorbing 94% of the increase in households," he said, explaining that "for example, if a household that had an average monthly consumption of 400 kilowatts would pay before the subsidy about 315 electricity for electricity, after the subsidy it pays less than 60 euros".
"The Prime Minister's order is to examine scenarios for supporting households that consume natural gas because we cannot and must not leave households in the heart of winter unable to heat their homes," said the Minister of Energy to add "last year we supported the households and through the increased heating allowance that we had included natural gas consumers, but also with subsidies on natural gas bills".
In response to the question of how this support will be provided, Mr. Skrekas noted that "we are discussing all this with the Ministry of Finance, which is the responsible ministry. We will tell you more when, after the very good cooperation we have with Christos Staikouras and Theodoris Skylakakis and after of course the Prime Minister's approval, we will finally end up with the fairest and most focused support for those who especially need it most next winter".
"We will also support natural gas consumers in the winter against these explosive price increases", added Mr. Skrekas.
Millions of households are at risk of energy poverty in Britain
Britons are set to see huge bill increases this winter, with the cost of energy for Britons set to rise by 80% from October, regulator Ofgem announced a few days ago. On average households will pay £3,549 (around €4,200) per year in bills.
This winter, Britons will spend an average of 10% of their income on gas, electricity and other fuels to heat and get around (mostly oil and diesel). The figure is double that of 2021, according to Carbon Brief calculations based on official data. This means that the current energy crisis is more severe than those of the 1970s and 80s.
The oil embargo of oil-producing countries and the Iranian revolution of 1979 caused blackouts and long lines at gas stations in the West. At the height of that crisis, in 1982, Britons were spending 9.3% of their income on energy bills.
British charity National Energy Action (NEA) estimates that 8.9 million UK households will face the specter of energy poverty after October - up from 4.5 million last year.
Energy poverty is defined as the condition of a household that has a low income and spends 10% or more of that income to meet its energy needs, according to NEA and other organizations. The term is also used informally in other European countries.
