Germany’s neighbors say the measure is harming EU unity and hindering their efforts to ditch Russian energy.
The EU will haul Germany to court unless the country revises a controversial gas law that neighboring countries say is harming their efforts to diversify away from Russian energy, a senior European Commission official told POLITICO.
Germany adopted the law in 2022, slapping a levy on all gas leaving the country to help plug an almost €10 billion black hole in its budget. But Germany’s neighbors say the law could violate EU rules on gas storage and undermine the bloc’s single market — driving up prices and incentivizing them to buy cheaper Russian energy.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive, shares those concerns and has told Germany the measure may not be legal.
“For us, there are grounds to consider it a clear-cut breach of competition law and the single market rules,” said the senior Commission official, who was granted anonymity to speak freely about the sensitive matter.
Eastern Europe cannot rely on methane as a fuel for decades to come, they’re acting like climate change isn’t happening.
Sure, this tax might need to be scrapped, but methane is not the supposed solution countries like Hungary, Slovakia and Austria think it is. If Eastern European countries truly cannot afford legitimate methane uses (e.g. heating for low to middle income home owners until replacement) from non-Russian sources, then the EU needs to do something, but I doubt that that is wanted.
It’s also funny that a tax meant to increase gas prices and make it easier for alternatives to be cost effective is used in an argument to not do anything and just rely on Russian gas.
Though it would be good/required if that tax directly goes to the country paying it and to efforts to switch from gas. That’s sort of how the Netherlands subsidises the efforts, they made electricity and gas more expensive and used part of that to subsidize solar panels, various business projects, etc.