Europe | Preventing the big chill

Europe scrambles to protect citizens from sky-high energy prices

It is a test of European solidarity against Vladimir Putin

BERLIN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 03: The Heizkraftwerk Lichterfelde natural gas-fired power and heating plant stands behind residential houses on November 03, 2021 in Berlin, Germany. Natural gas prices have risen dramatically in Europe and Germany over recent months, leading to a corresponding sharp rise in electricity prices. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
|BERLIN, PARIS AND ROME

“What we have to do is flatten the curve,” Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, announced on September 7th. She was talking not about the pandemic, but about Europe’s newest crisis: a surge in energy prices caused by Russia curtailing fossil-fuel exports to press the eu to stop supporting Ukraine. Ms von der Leyen proposed five eu-wide measures to frustrate Russian manipulation, including flattening peaks in electricity demand which help drive up prices. European energy ministers will discuss her proposals when they meet in Brussels on September 9th.

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Preventing the big chill”

Europe September 10th 2022

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