The Eu Will Impose Windfall Taxes On Energy Firms To Curb Rising Prices

“In these times it is wrong to receive extraordinary revenues and record profits profiting from war and on the backs of our consumers,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. “In these times, profits must be shared and channeled to those who need them most.” The proposal would overlay a patchwork of national measures taken by the 27 EU member states with a more coherent response across the bloc. A draft of the plans would see oil, gas, coal and refining companies pay a “solidarity levy” of 33 percent of their taxable profits from the 2022 financial year. Electricity generation from non-fossil fuels will also be subject to a revenue excess cap. Under this element of the draft proposal, wind, solar and nuclear plants would have a revenue cap of 180 euros ($180) per megawatt hour (MWh), with any excess deducted by national governments. Cash raised by the measures will be used to fund consumer support to deal with high energy bills, which have soared after Russia cut gas supplies in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine. The Commission’s proposals would also impose a mandatory target for member states to reduce electricity consumption by 5 percent during peak hours by 10 percent each month. The plans must be discussed and agreed by EU member states, with a summit of EU energy ministers on September 30 the likely venue for any agreement. But Ms von der Leyen’s plan backs away from previous plans to cap the price of Russian gas imports. The lacier resort 3000 above Les Diablerets shows the Tsanfleuron pass free of the ice that covered it for at least 2,000 years next to blankets covering the snow from the past winter season to keep it from melting. – The thick layer of ice that has covered a Swiss mountain pass between the Scex Rouge Glacier and the Tsanfleuron Glacier since at least Roman times has completely melted. 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The clinic is currently operating under…