Capping of energy prices should happen across the board – Alfred Sant

In an intervention to the plenary of the European Parliament in Strasbourg about the European Union response to the energy prices rises former Prime Minister and Labour MEP Alfred Sant stated that the model to be followed should be that of an economic war conducted to secure and maximise energy supplies while stabilising prices. “Simply relying on the canalisation and manipulation of market forces, plus consumer subsidies, has a high probability of insuccess,” he noted.

The debate formed part of ongoing efforts within the European Union to put in place a coordinated European plan to manage energy supplies for next winter and beyond, following the disruption of Russian gas supplies and skyrocketing energy prices. Just prior to the plenary, Europen Commission President von der Leyen made proposals for new joint action by European Union member states.

MEP Sant agreed that the price of gas must be decoupled from that set for electricity. But he argued that the capping of energy prices would have to happen across the board, not just for natural gas from Russia. Meanwhile, there should be a total transparency as to what is being done, price-wise and via governmental action.

Temporary outright nationalisation cannot be sidelined by definition, Sant stated. Measures must be calibrated together, at all levels of the energy spectrum through government action, private sector collaboration and coordination between member states. He questioned whether what has been proposed up to now is sufficiently comprehensive to deliver full energy security and price stabilisation.