On Friday, 31 March 2023, another roundtable of the National Convention on the European Union will take place via the online platform Webex Teams, this time on the topic of energy market review. The debate will take place from 9:00 to 12:00. The topic will be discussed by representatives of the public administration, education sector, business, social partners and other invited guests. EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy is the expert guarantor of this roundtable.
The years 2021 and 2022 represented a shock for the European internal energy market and the principles on which it is based in general. Record electricity and gas price rises in the EU were due to a combination of different and to some extent independent phenomena – the unexpected reduction in nuclear and hydro power capacity in FR due to the drought, the significant increase in consumption due to the post-COVID economic recovery, to the quite crucial impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent energy war between Russia and the EU. During the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU, a series of emergency crisis measures were adopted at a total of two ordinary and five extraordinary Energy Councils, which allowed the situation to stabilise. Thanks to a mild winter, and measures for coordinated filling of gas reservoirs, reduction of consumption and a significant increase in gas imports from Norway, the US and other partners, the EU managed to cope with this winter without major problems.
But now it is time to start preparing for the next filling and heating season when, unlike last year, the EU will not be filling its storage tanks with Russian gas. At the same time, we need to focus on systemic and long-term solutions. The European Commission is preparing a comprehensive review of the electricity market, reflecting the experience of the last crisis year and the increased climate ambitions following the approval of the climate part of the Fit for 55 package during the Czech Presidency. The legislative proposal itself is expected to be published in mid-March 2023 and presented by the European Commission at the Energy Ministers‘ meeting on 28 March 2023. Before that, leaders can be expected to discuss it at the European Council. For this reason, now is the ideal time to launch a debate on the future shape of the Single Energy Market that the Czech Republic will advocate.
Questions to be discussed at the roundtable:
- How can we assess the European Commission’s proposal to revise the European electricity market from the Czech Republic’s position?
- How can the revision of the internal gas market rules be assessed in the context of the energy crisis?
- How should the EU prepare for the coming winter?
