EU leaders meet at energy summit to tackle energy crisis

European Union leaders met on Thursday for a two-day summit dedicated to tackling the energy crisis and bringing down energy prices. However, while the countries were in agreement about Russia's responsibility for the issue, there were divided views on how to tackle the issue, The Associated Press reports.

The bloc was divided on whether and how to cap the price of gas, making any action unlikely as of right now, Reuters reports. With the rising price of natural gas along with the number of sanctions on Russia, many EU nations have already felt a substantial economic impact, AP writes.

Germany held a particularly firm stance by pushing to hold off plans on imposing a gas cap, arguing that a cap could cause suppliers to freeze Europe out and reduce people's incentive to save energy. The view frustrated many nations with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi saying, "We are asked to show solidarity in sharing energy but there is no solidarity on our calls for containing prices."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

While the countries agree that the group needs to come to a broad consensus, the number of varying opinions makes it unclear whether the issue can be resolved before the end of the summit on Friday. French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated that "it is important that on proposals that are the subject of a broad consensus, we can find unanimity."

The summit's chairman Charles Michel, said, "Division is not a luxury we can afford."