Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

The two-day European summit will kick off at 3:00 p.m. today, Thursday, Brussels time, which brings together the heads of state and government of the 27 member states of the united bloc, who are facing a difficult test before European public opinion in the wake of the repercussions of the Russian war on Ukraine and the increase in the prices of some commodities, especially with regard to energy prices.

Angry demonstrations have taken place in a number of European capitals in the recent period, and the leaders will work to send a message of reassurance to citizens in light of fears of an energy crisis during the winter season.
 Hours before the start of the summit, the President of the Council of the European Union, Charles Michel, sent a message to the leaders and said:

Our discussions in Prague recently allowed us to have a frank exchange. We will build concretely on this at the European Council meeting on Thursday and Friday.

The focal point of our agenda is the energy crisis, which we must deal with as quickly as possible. In particular, we must inevitably ramp up our three lines of action: reducing demand, ensuring security of supply and containing prices.

Our meeting will be an opportunity to examine further measures that can bring prices down. This includes: taking full advantage of our unit's negotiating leverage at 27 through joint gas procurement, establishing a new standard that more accurately reflects conditions in the gas market, and examining the temporary dynamic price limit. I also expect that we will address other market interventions in the short and long term, such as the EU Framework for Reducing the Price of Gas for Electricity Generation. I am confident that, despite various national constraints, we will approach the energy debate in a constructive manner, bearing in mind our pressing collective interest.

Our economic prospects will largely depend on how we manage our energy crisis. As a corollary to our energy discussion, I would also like to focus on effectively coordinating our economic policy responses including support for common European solutions.