Cefic calls on EU to provide relief from energy crisis

BRUSSELS—The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) has called on the European Union to implement "precise relief measures" to address the ongoing energy crisis in the region, stating that there is a "lack of urgency" in the policies so far discussed.

In a Sept. 9 meeting, the Energy Council acknowledged the pressure put by the increase in electricity and gas prices and offered a number of relief measures.

However, Cefic said in a Sept. 13 statement that many of the measures "require further elaboration, are worded in broad and, at times, vague terms and are unclear as to their application to industry."

The industry council, therefore, urged European leaders to provide "immediate and precise relief measures that can be implemented swiftly to ensure the continued viability of the operations in Europe."

Cefic had warned the Energy Council of the "serious consequences" of the high electricity and gas prices in a statement ahead of the meeting.

"With the EU gas peaking at 334 €/MWh TTF spot prices two weeks ago, which is 15 times its pre-crisis level, 10 times more than the U.S. prices and well above the prices in Asia, it is clear that the relation with a normal market is lost," said the a Sept. 6 letter.

The last few weeks, the letter went on to say, saw a great number of industrial plants shutting down or reducing their production in Europe, warning that "more are expected in the forthcoming weeks.

"These massive plant curtailments will increase Europe's dependency on third markets for strategic supply chains and will drastically increase the global carbon emissions," the letter added.

In its Sept. 13 statement, Cefic called on EU leaders to provide the industry with immediate relief, adding that "with every day that goes by, the situation grows worse with potential irreversible consequences on investments in Europe."