Germany and the Netherlands will propose an energy package to help reduce energy costs in the European Union, according to a document on Wednesday.
European Union energy ministers are scheduled to meet in Prague on Wednesday to discuss how to deal with the current energy problems.
Germany and the Netherlands have drawn up a package that focuses on proposals for joint gas purchases across the EU to stop individual countries overbidding in the market.
Other measures in the document include raising the gas demand reduction target and making it binding; An LNG benchmark will also be developed to run alongside the Dutch TTF, the European benchmark.
Lay the foundation
The EU's executive arm should carry out an impact assessment of any measures to see how they will affect gas demand, supply security and the energy transition, the paper said.
The document will form the basis of a meeting between the two countries' energy ministers on Wednesday. Germany and the Netherlands say the measures should be implemented "immediately" and that member states should ensure that their filling of gas storage next year is coordinated to prevent price spikes.
Germany and the Netherlands have argued that any measure should be "very carefully considered and should also include burden sharing".
The document will set the stage for a tense day of meetings of European energy ministers seeking a common proposal that the commission can present with a new package of measures at a Brussels summit on 20-21 this month.
Disagreement over gas price caps remains elusive
An informal EU summit last week was marked by "serious differences" over capping gas prices after a day of discussions ended without substantive progress.
A group of 15 EU countries said last week that gas price caps should be the next step, backed by countries including France, Italy and Poland. But countries including Germany, Denmark, Austria and the Netherlands are opposed.
Germany, Europe's biggest gas market, has been skeptical of the price cap plan, saying it is not price competitive and could disrupt supplies by making it difficult to buy gas in the EU. Germany believes that the main objective of energy programmes should be cost reduction.
The German-Dutch paper argues that "any measure that only addresses the appearance of high prices will not be effective enough to address the root of the problem."
