Pilides satisfied with EU Energy Council decisions

The new energy measures adopted by the EU take into account the peculiarities of individual member states like Cyprus, Energy Minister Natasa Pilides said on Friday after participating alongside her EU counterparts in an extraordinary session of the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council.

“Today, EU energy ministers adopted a series of targeted and time-bound measures to tackle high energy prices,” she said in a written statement, adding that these decisions have strengthened the EU’s toolkit by acknowledging that member-states have different starting points.

“This is a toolkit we can make use of in our country,” she added.

“Particularly in relation to Cyprus, we must emphasise the importance of including a special provision for the voluntary implementation of the measures we agreed on, which takes into account the conditions and particularities of our country,” Pilides said.

This provision means that the energy security of Cyprus is safeguarded as long as the viability of energy providers, such as EAC, is ensured, she added.

“At the same time, the passing on of any costs to consumers and businesses is prevented, and the opportunity is provided to limit any excess profits from the production of energy from RES”.

The minister said she and her counterparts also discussed mitigating high gas prices.

“Cyprus is ready to discuss a proposal for a price ceiling for imported pipeline natural gas and/or LNG in the EU and to establish an appropriate mechanism to ensure the energy security of member states, as long as it does not create imbalances in the energy market”.

Before taking any further measures to reduce natural gas demand, the effects of existing measures should first be assessed and the impact of any new measures on consumers and businesses considered, Pilides added.

Finally, in relation to the recent gas leaks in Nord Stream I and II, the minister expressed solidarity to the affected member states Denmark, Germany and Sweden, saying that “such incidents in EU energy infrastructure are of great concern and therefore need to be fully investigated”.