Thirteen EU countries call for Brussels to withdraw its plan to tax electricity less than gas

EU energy ministers debated on Thursday 29 October in Luxembourg the European Commission's proposal to bring down electricity bills, which includes ensuring that electricity is not taxed more than gas and that Brussels sets common rules for calculating electricity network tariffs, according to Euronews and Agence Europe. The Commission presented the proposal on 17 July, according to Agence Europe.

Germany, Italy, Malta, Czechia, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Finland, Romania, Croatia, Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Hungary called for the tax part to be removed, according to Euronews. Spain, Denmark and Luxembourg backed the Commission, although they asked for room for flexibility, and France proposed applying it only in specific situations, such as a gas crisis. Several countries, including Spain, France, Germany and Italy, also opposed Brussels setting the criteria for network tariffs, on the grounds that it reduces the independence of national regulators, according to the same outlet.

Sources differ on the legal opinion. According to Euronews, the Commissioner for Energy, Dan Jørgensen, said that the legal services of the Commission and the Council consider the proposal sound. According to Agence Europe, the Council's legal service issued an unfavourable opinion on some provisions, orally and not publicly.

The Irish presidency wants to close a compromise on network tariffs in December, according to Euronews. The EU faces the winter with its gas storage at 75%, compared with 83% a year ago, and European wholesale gas reached 100 euros per megawatt hour on Wednesday for the first time since December 2022, according to Reuters.