After months of insistence from Belgium, Italy and other member states, the committee finally put forward a concrete proposal on Tuesday, but the ACV considers it an “ineffective mechanism”.
The CSC’s Flemish counterpart argued that if the proposal was not changed or if the federal government itself did not impose a lower price cap, there could be action.
The “market correction mechanism” raised eyebrows on Tuesday. The correction will only come into effect if monthly contract prices on the reference market of the Dutch TTF exceed €275/MWh for two consecutive weeks. However, monthly contracts only topped €275/MWh this year during a very brief period at the end of August, peaking at around €350, when the 27 were vying to fill their reserves.
Another condition: it is necessary at the same time that the “gap” with the reference price of LNG on the world market reaches 58 euros or more.
It is unacceptable, the energy crisis is disturbing our society. The price explosion puts enormous pressure on purchasing power, while companies in the energy sector are making huge profits. The current federal government measures are helping weather the initial storm, but they are insufficient and only temporary.
This is why the Union wants the federal government to do everything it can to achieve a “real” European price ceiling. “Otherwise, the government has to take responsibility and impose a lower price cap on its own so that people can pay their bills,” ACV’s statement read.
The Dutch-speaking Christian Union indicates that it will soon examine with other unions possible measures in the coming weeks to “impose a real price cap”.