European Energy Ministers Will Debate These Measures To Combat The Looming Energy Crisis

Capping Russian natural gas prices and looking for ways to reduce liquidity crunches at energy companies are two of the five measures that European Energy Ministers will discuss on Friday in an effort to calm the region's energy crisis. The Czech Republic, which currently holds the EU presidency, called for the emergency meeting last month. In response to Western sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has been squeezing gas flows into Europe.

"We are facing an extraordinary situation, not only because Russia is an unreliable supplier, as we have witnessed over the last days, weeks, months, but also because Russia is actively manipulating the gas market," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated at a press conference ahead of Friday's meeting in Brussels.

A price cap on Russian gas to reduce costs is one of the measures being considered. The European Commission's energy agency has already urged EU members to enact emergency wholesale price-cap measures to assist households and businesses in paying their skyrocketing energy bills.

A cap would limit the amount of money that local buyers could pay wholesale for Russian gas imports. With Russia reducing energy supplies to the region, benchmark Dutch TTF futures have increased by over 1,000% year on year.

"We must cut Russia's revenues, which Putin uses to finance his atrocious war in Ukraine,"  von der Leyden said in prepared remarks delivered on Wednesday, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He called Europe's plan to impose gas price caps "stupid," saying it would lead to higher prices.