The Guardian learned of the EU's refusal to impose a ceiling on Russian gas prices

The EU failed to agree on a price ceiling for Russian gas. Instead, the EU could propose an additional tax on energy companies, or a "solidarity contribution"

The European Union will not impose a ceiling on Russian gas prices, but will advocate for an additional tax on the excess profits of energy companies, citing a draft European Commission regulation, The Guardian reported.

According to the publication, the text of the document may still change, but it is clear that not all EU member states support the introduction of a cap on Russian gas prices. In particular, among the opponents of such a measure are Hungary, Slovakia and Austria.

Instead of a ceiling on prices for Russian gas, the introduction of which could not be agreed upon, the EU may propose an additional tax for oil and gas companies. The document calls it a "solidarity contribution", writes The Guardian.

As follows from the draft resolution, the European Commission expects that this year the profits of energy companies will grow five times. However, these "surpluses" will not be the result of any economic or investment decisions, but the result of "unpredictable developments in the energy markets" after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, the document says. It does not say what the rate of the new windfall tax might be.

The EC reported that they could not agree on the price ceiling for Russian gas Politics

The HEAD of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced in early September that the European Union, against the backdrop of the energy crisis, will consider the possibility of introducing a ceiling price on imported Russian gas. However, so far the EU has not been able to agree on this measure. A number of countries, including Italy, Poland and Greece, are opposed, and at least ten EU countries, on the contrary, have proposed expanding the restriction by introducing a ceiling for all suppliers, not just RUSSIA, writes The Financial Times.

The European Commission will publish the final plan in September, said Italian Minister for Environmental Modernization and Transformation Roberto Cingolani. If the EU imposes a ceiling on energy prices, Russia will cut off supplies, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned. “We will not supply anything outside the scope of contracts. We will not do anything forced. And we will only have one thing left - how to say in the well-known Russian fairy tale: “Freeze, freeze, wolf tail,” the president said.

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