NUNZIUM

While Russia continued striking energy infrastructure in Ukraine, the EU council met on October 20-21 to formulate decisions on several open issues including the Ukraine and energy crisis. The council expressed determination “to defend the sovereignty of Ukraine and rules-based international order”. It reiterated “that Russia bears the sole responsibility for the current energy and economic crises” and the “rejection of the illegal annexation by Russia of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions”. The EU will continue to support Ukraine, providing “political, military, and financial support” and it decides to “conduct an EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine”. The Council condemns the acts of sabotage against critical infrastructures, such as those against the Nord Stream pipelines, and urges nations to cooperate to enhance the resilience of critical infrastructure. To contain gas pricing, the EU decided to encourage joint purchasing and implement a temporary dynamic price cap on natural gas transactions, in particular to the gas used for electricity generation. This will establish a flexible range for gas prices, but more precise details will be known in the next two to three weeks. During the press conference after the council, French president Emmanuel Macron expressed the feeling that gas pricing is not only concerning Russia but the US too. In his words “American gas is 3-4 times cheaper on the domestic market than the price at which they offer it to Europeans. These are double standards", Macron said. According to him, this should become a topic for discussion, since "it concerns sincerity in transatlantic trade". The Council also discussed external relations and pointed to the need to hold strategic discussions with China in preparation for the EU-ASEAN Commemorative Summit on 14 December 2022. This will be an opportunity to further deepen the European Union’s Strategic Partnership with ASEAN.