World
Von der Leyen unveils five proposals to curb rising energy prices
Ursula von der Leyen has unveiled a collection of long-awaited proposals to sort out the EU’s worsening vitality disaster and curb the hovering payments which are placing European households and corporations below monetary stress.
The European Fee president proposed an EU-wide plan to cut back electrical energy consumption, a value cap on the surplus revenues made by renewables and nuclear vitality, a solidarity mechanism to seize the “huge” and “sudden” income reaped by fossil gas corporations, and a state support programme to inject further liquidity into struggling utility companies.
“The manipulation of the gasoline markets has a spill-over impact on the electrical energy market,” von der Leyen mentioned on Wednesday afternoon.
“We’re confronted with astronomic electrical energy costs for households and corporations and with huge market volatility.”
Von der Leyen additionally put ahead a value cap on imports of Russian pipeline gasoline, which, if launched, might push the Kremlin to retaliate and completely droop gasoline flows.
“We should minimize Russia’s revenues which Putin makes use of to finance this atrocious warfare in opposition to Ukraine,” she mentioned.
Over the previous few months, Gazprom has lowered the gasoline circulate by way of its pipelines, shutting down Nord Stream 1 for an indefinite period of time.
Consequently, von der Leyen defined, the share of Russian pipeline gasoline within the EU’s whole imports has plunged from 40% earlier than the warfare to 9% at this time.
Norway, she mentioned, has changed Russia because the bloc’s main gasoline provider.
The president added her companies had been additionally inspecting the opportunity of a value cap on all imported gasoline, which would come with liquefied pure gasoline (LNG), a commodity that has develop into key to diversifying away from Russia.
Nevertheless, this far-reaching cap wouldn’t be tabled in the meanwhile.
“LNG is scarce and may be rerouted to completely different areas,” von der Leyen mentioned. “We [want to] keep aggressive for LNG suppliers however ensure that the costs we pay usually are not terribly excessive however in a good vary.”
‘We have to flatten the peaks’
The measures offered by the Fee chief are all of outstanding nature and replicate the balancing act between intervening within the free market and guaranteeing the safety of vitality provides.
The primary proposal, electrical energy financial savings, would set up a “necessary goal” for limiting energy use throughout peak hours when the function of gasoline turns into outsized and the payments swell.
“This requires sensible discount in demand. We want a method to flatten the peaks which drives the worth of electrical energy,” von der Leyen mentioned.
The EU has already put in place a voluntary plan to chop gasoline consumption by 15% earlier than subsequent spring.
The second proposal is supposed to restrict the surplus revenues made by so-called inframarginal mills, that’s, those that do not use gasoline to provide electrical energy, corresponding to renewables, nuclear and coal, and have considerably decrease manufacturing prices.
For the reason that ultimate value of electrical energy is at all times set by the most costly gas to satisfy calls for – on this case, gasoline – these inframarginal mills are seeing “revenues they by no means dreamt and that they can not reinvest as quick,” von der Leyen mentioned.
The distinction between the ultimate electrical energy value and the yet-undefined EU cap would create further funds for governments, which might then be used to assist customers in want.
“It’s now time for customers to learn from the low prices of low-carbon vitality sources,” von der Leyen mentioned.
An identical mechanism might be utilized to fossil gas corporations that commerce oil and gasoline, however this may goal their declared income, relatively than the market dynamics.
The 5 concepts will likely be additional mentioned by EU vitality ministers on Friday throughout an emergency assembly, the place politicians are anticipated to provide the Fee a clearer political mandate on the right way to transfer forward.
The cap on Russian gasoline is poised to be essentially the most divisive proposal, given the completely different ranges of dependency amongst member states. Final week, Hungary introduced a brand new contract with Gazprom for an additional 5.8 million cubic metres of every day gasoline.
As soon as agreed, the measures might be quickly launched below an emergency process.
Fee officers had beforehand rejected different drastic proposals, corresponding to subsidies for carbon emissions permits or an outright suspension of the wholesale market.
The chief additionally dismissed the opportunity of making use of the Iberian mannequin – a subsidised cap on gasoline costs – to your complete EU market, fearing it will encourage increased consumption of gasoline and make international locations extra susceptible to Russia’s provide manipulation.
Von der Leyen and her staff have been the goal of criticism in current days, with each European Council President Charles Michel and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo decrying the late collective response to the vitality disaster.
Market intervention “ought to have been performed earlier, and it is a disgrace that it took so lengthy,” De Croo mentioned.
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World
Russia jails American Stephen Hubbard over fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine
A Russian court sentenced a 72-year-old American to nearly seven years in prison Monday after he was convicted on charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine.
Investigators alleged during a closed-door trial that Stephen Hubbard of Michigan was paid $1,000 a month to enlist in a Ukrainian defense unit in Izyum, a city in the eastern part of the country, where he had been residing since 2014, according to Reuters.
The news agency cited Russian investigators and state media as saying that Hubbard was trained and given weapons and ammunition after he allegedly signed up for the mercenary unit in February 2022. Two months later, he reportedly was detained by Russian soldiers and then pleaded guilty to charges of fighting as a mercenary.
Hubbard was sentenced to six years and 10 months in prison. He is the first American known to have been convicted on charges of fighting as a mercenary in the Ukrainian conflict, according to the Associated Press.
RUSSIAN ARMS DEALER VIKTOR BOUT, WHO WAS TRADED FOR BRITTANY GRINER, TO SELL WEAPONS TO IRAN-BACKED HOUTHIS
The charges carry a potential sentence of 15 years, but prosecutors asked that his age be taken into account along with his admission of guilt, Russian news reports said.
Last month, Hubbard’s sister Patricia Hubbard Fox and another relative told Reuters that he held pro-Russian views and was unlikely to have fought in battle at his age.
Russian state media is saying Hubbard plans to appeal the verdict. The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
UKRAINIAN STRONGHOLD VUHLEDAR FALLS TO RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE AFTER TWO YEARS OF BOMBARDMENT
A court in the Russian city of Voronezh also sentenced American Robert Gilman on Monday to seven years and one month for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers while serving a sentence for another assault.
Gilman, a U.S. Marine veteran, was arrested in 2022 for causing a disturbance while intoxicated on a passenger train, and then allegedly assaulted a police officer while in custody, Russian news reports say. He is already serving a 3 1/2-year sentence on that charge.
State news agency RIA-Novosti said that last year, he assaulted a prison inspector during a cell check, then hit an official of the Investigative Committee, resulting in the new sentence.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
Asylum applications in the EU drop by 17% as countries tighten borders
Syrians remain the largest group among asylum seekers, while Germany, Spain, Italy and France face the most cases.
First-time applications from people seeking asylum in the EU have declined by 17% this summer, according to Eurostat.
Syrians are still the largest group of people seeking asylum with more than 10,000 first-time applicants. Venezuelans followed them with 6,340 and Afghans with 5,930 applications.
Germany, Spain, Italy and France still host the highest number of first-time asylum applicants. These four countries are processing 76% of all first-time applications in the EU.
According to the report, in June the EU total of first-time asylum applicants was 15.7 per 100,000 people.
Among the 70,375 seeking asylum in the EU, a bit over 2,000 are unaccompanied minors.
The majority of underaged asylum seekers are originally from Syria (675), Afghanistan (405) and Egypt (255).
Most of these children apply for asylum in Germany, Bulgaria, Greece, the Netherlands and Spain.
How are the EU countries reacting?
Despite the drop, migration remains a buzzword across EU member states, forcing the issue to the top of the agenda.
The 17% drop in asylum applications came as some of the bloc’s countries announced new tighter border controls.
Germany decided to tighten its land borders for six months in September and has allowed its law enforcement to reject more migrants right at its borders.
Temporary border controls are set up at the land borders with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark, adding to the existing checks, now totalling at all land crossings with nine European countries.
“Until we achieve strong protection of the EU’s external borders with the new Common European Asylum System, we need to strengthen controls at our national borders,” German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said.
The Dutch government has also confirmed its intention to ask “as soon as possible” for an opt-out clause from the EU’s migration and asylum rules.
For more information about this, watch the Euronews video in the player above.
Video editor • Mert Can Yilmaz
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