The energy intensive industries welcome the efforts undertaken by the Member States to solve the energy crisis in the European Union. Nevertheless, ahead of the next Extraordinary Energy Council, we would like to underline the need for more immediate and efficient measures to be put in place, as we observe the crisis circumstances worsening day by day in our industries.

With the current gas price reaching about 200 EUR/MWh, the situation remains unbearable for the energy intensive producers. The impact of the volatility and extremely high levels of gas and electricity prices cannot be sustained. The consequences are already felt among the industry, with shut-downs of plants and reduction of production in many sectors with the consequence of job losses. The competitiveness of the European companies is threatened.

We reiterate our call on the European leaders to urgently introduce EU-wide measures aimed at addressing the impact of natural gas prices on industrial competitiveness and measures designed to disconnect electricity prices from gas prices.

Moreover, the Temporary Crisis Framework needs to be prolonged and reviewed to adapt to the current circumstances. It must be more flexible and allow for fast approval of the state aid. For example, such requirement as negative EBITDA must be removed, as it means the aid would arrive too late.