Also, the complexity of the conditionalities triggering the cap may weaken its effectiveness and implementation. According to the legal proposal, the price level must be reached for three working days and European wholesale gas prices must remain, for the same length of time, at €35 above the global price of liquefied natural gas. Therefore, EURATEX urged the European Union (EU) Council to improve this market correction mechanism in a press statement.

European energy ministers reached an agreement on a price cap for natural gas wholesale prices recently. Despite welcoming the adoption of the instrument and the prospect to limit gas price speculations, EURATEX considers the cap at €180/MWh to be still too high. The complexity of the conditionalities triggering the cap may weaken its effectiveness.

Furthermore, EURATEX insists on the need to provide the industry with support measures to counteract competition from the US and other countries.

“The industry is at the heart of the European way of life and the fundament of our social market economy. The European textile industry is 99.8 per cent composed of SMEs, which struggle with tight margins while being at the upstream part of the supply chain. The EU must do more to save its industrial structure, its competitiveness, and its capacity to provide essential products to European citizens,” affirmed Dirk Vantyghem, director general of EURATEX.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB)