布鲁塞尔-在冬天来临之际，欧盟国家周四再次未能弥合天然气价格上限的激烈分歧，因为他们试图有效地保护4.5亿公民免受公用事业费用大幅上涨的影响。
能源部长的紧急会议只是显示了与俄罗斯在乌克兰的战争相关的能源危机如何将27国集团分裂成几乎不可调和的集团。
捷克工业部长约瑟夫·西凯拉(Jozef Síkela)说，“讨论相当激烈，你们都知道，观点非常分歧。”他主持了会议，部长们在天然气购买价格上限应该在何时以及如何生效的问题上无法达成一致。
8月份天然气价格的大幅上涨震惊了除欧洲最富裕国家之外的所有人，迫使欧盟寻找上限来遏制加剧通胀的波动价格。
但欧盟陷入僵局，一方是要求降低天然气价格以缓解家庭账单的国家——包括希腊、西班牙、比利时、法国和波兰——另一方是德国和荷兰等国，它们坚称，如果上限阻止欧盟国家购买高于一定价格的天然气，供应就会面临风险。
令许多人沮丧的是，解决方案遥遥无期。
“波兰已经零下10摄氏度了，”该国能源部长安娜·莫斯克瓦说。“现在是冬天了。”
在价格上限问题上无法达成妥协，也阻碍了联合购买天然气的计划，以及帮助最贫困成员国的团结机制，因为这些措施将作为一揽子方案达成一致。
另一次紧急能源会议定于12月13日举行。
荷兰能源部长罗布·杰顿说:“分歧仍然很大。”。"这意味着在接下来的两周内有大量的工作要做。"
随着莫斯科大幅削减对欧洲用于供暖、电力和工业生产的天然气供应，天然气和电力价格飙升。欧洲官员指责俄罗斯发动能源战，以惩罚欧盟国家支持乌克兰。
因此，达成协议不仅是为了给公民提供温暖，也是为了向俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京展示统一战线。
谈判已经拖了几个月，即使上个月欧盟领导人峰会宣布了某种突破，但实际上什么也看不到。各国一直在等待欧盟执行机构欧盟委员会(European Commission)的提议，为价格上限设定一个门槛。当该提议于周二出台时，人们感到沮丧，并指责它永远不会奏效。
欧盟委员会为“安全价格上限”设定了一个门槛，如果价格连续两周超过每兆瓦时275欧元，并且比全球市场上的液化天然气价格高出58欧元，安全价格上限就会生效。
用政治语言来说，这意味着这样一个体系甚至可能无法避免8月份那样高的加息。
“设定275欧元的上限实际上不是上限，”希腊能源部长康斯坦丁诺斯·斯克雷卡斯(Konstantinos Skrekas)说，他呼吁上限可以低至150欧元。
“我们正在失去宝贵的时间，却没有结果，”他补充道。
相比之下，周四欧洲TTF基准价格为每兆瓦时123欧元。由于价格自夏季峰值以来已经下降，外交官们表示，紧迫性有所减弱，尽管如果天气比正常情况下冷，供应紧张，价格可能会迅速回升。
“我们也想为明年做好准备，这需要一个强有力的联合方案;幸运的是，我们还有几周的时间来达成协议。
大约15个国家一致认为应该设定一个较低的上限，但德国和荷兰领导了另一个团体，希望确保天然气供应船不会因为在其他地方可以获得更好的价格而绕过欧洲。
“供应安全至关重要。欧洲仍然是一个有吸引力的天然气市场，”爱沙尼亚经济部长Riina Sikkut说。
由于俄罗斯在乌克兰的战争导致贸易中断，欧盟国家已经将俄罗斯天然气进口到欧盟的总体份额从入侵前的40%减少到7%左右。而且储气几乎满了，远远超过了目标。
欧盟一直依赖增加液化天然气(LNG)进口，包括从美国进口，以帮助解决俄罗斯供应下降的问题。
EU nations fail to close rift on gas prices as cold sets in
BRUSSELS --On winter's doorstep, European Union nations again failed to bridge bitter disagreements over a natural gas price cap Thursday as they struggle to effectively shield 450 million citizens from massive increases in their utility bills.
An emergency meeting of energy ministers only showed how the energy crisis tied to Russia's war in Ukraine has divided the 27-nation bloc into almost irreconcilable blocs.
“The discussion was quite heated, and you all know that there are very divergent views,” said Czech Industry Minister Jozef Síkela, who chaired the meeting where ministers could not agree on when and how a price cap on gas purchases should kick in.
A massive August spike in natural gas prices stunned all but the wealthiest in Europe, forcing the bloc to look for a cap to contain volatile prices that are fueling inflation.
But the EU is deadlocked between nations demanding cheaper gas to ease household bills — including Greece, Spain, Belgium, France and Poland — and those like Germany and the Netherlands insisting supplies are at risk if a cap stops EU countries from buying gas above a certain price.
A solution was nowhere near the horizon — to the frustration of many.
“It's already minus 10 (Celsius) in Poland,” said the nation's energy minister, Anna Moskwa. “It's winter now."
The inability to find a compromise on the price cap also held up plans for joint gas purchases and a solidarity mechanism to help the neediest member states because the measures would be agreed on as a package.
Another emergency energy meeting was set for Dec. 13.
“The differences are really still major,” said Dutch Energy Minister Rob Jetten. “It means there is an awful amount of work ahead over the next two weeks.”
Natural gas and electricity prices have soared as Moscow slashed gas supplies to Europe used for heating, electricity and industrial processes. European officials have accused Russia of energy warfare to punish EU countries for supporting Ukraine.
So finding a deal is not only about providing warmth to citizens but also about showing a united front to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Talks have dragged on for months, and even if a summit of EU leaders proclaimed some sort of breakthrough last month, nothing has been visible on the ground. Nations had been waiting for a proposal from the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, to set a threshold for a price cap, and when it came Tuesday, there was dismay and accusations it could never work.
The commission set a threshold for a “safety price ceiling” to kick in if prices exceed 275 euros per megawatt hour for two weeks and if they are 58 euros higher than the price for liquefied natural gas on world markets.
In political language, it means that such a system might not even have averted hikes as high as in August.
“Setting a ceiling at 275 euros is not actually a ceiling,” said Greek Energy Minister Konstantinos Skrekas, who called for a cap that could go as low as 150 euros.
“We are losing valuable time without results,” he added.
In comparison, the price stood at 123 euros per megawatt-hour on Europe's TTF benchmark Thursday. Because prices have fallen since the summertime peaks, diplomats have said the urgency has abated somewhat, even though it could pick up quickly again if the weather is colder than normal and supplies get tight.
“We want to be well-prepared for next year, too, and that requires a forceful joint approach; and fortunately, we have a few weeks left to get a deal on this,” Jetten said.
Some 15 nations are united around the view a lower cap should be set, but Germany and the Netherlands lead another group wanting to ensure that gas supply ships would not bypass Europe because they could get better prices elsewhere.
“Security of supply is paramount. Europe still has to be an attractive gas market,” Estonian Economy Minister Riina Sikkut said.
As a result of trade disruptions tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine, EU nations have reduced the overall share of Russian natural gas imports to the EU from 40% before the invasion to around 7%. And gas storage is as good as full, far exceeding targets.
The EU has relied on increased imports of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, including from the United States, to help address the fall in Russian supplies.
