The Socialists and Democrats today called on the European Commission and the Member States to come up with bold decisions, such as a price ceiling on energy imports. This took place during a plenary debate in the European Parliament on the eve of legislative proposals expected from the European Commission to tackle the  energy price crisis. The S&Ds also called for a fair redistribution of energy companies’ huge profits to support citizens as well as small and medium businesses. While the S&Ds welcome that the European Commission is now finally taking action, the Group regrets its calls were not heard for almost a year and urges the Commission to take bold measures up to the challenge.

Mohammed Chahim MEP, S&D vice-president for energy, said:

“Energy bills must remain affordable for households as well as small and medium enterprises. We, the Socialists and Democrats have been drawing attention for many months to the failure of the gas market due to speculation. The gas market was failing long before the Russian invasion against Ukraine and the ensuing problems with energy supplies to the EU. Urgent actions are needed on a European level to stop panic and speculations on the market. Our group has been calling for a price cap on energy imports and a windfall tax. We cannot ask people to tighten their belts even further without calling to account the energy companies for their skyrocketing profits. We have to be ready for a recession and support people through the extension of the SURE instrument. It would be regrettable if the European Parliament is circumvented from the normal decision making process and this crucial topic remains only in the hands of national governments and the European Commissioners.”

Dan Nica MEP, S&D spokesperson in the European Parliament’s committee on industry, research and energy, said:

“The speculations with the Title Transfer Facility (TTF ) cannot be tolerated any longer and we must put an end to them. The TTF is the virtual trading point for natural gas, and a great part of the volatility on gas markets within Europe is due to its manipulation. The European Commission and national governments should not underestimate the issue because it is one of the root causes for the current crisis resulting in the high bills for citizens and businesses throughout Europe. And that is why the burden of the crisis must be shared and our group insists on the introduction of a windfall tax. There is a huge risk that the burden will remain on the shoulders of the most vulnerable. This is just unacceptable. Nobody must have to choose between eating and heating this, or any other, winter in the EU.”