European Union

Germany and the Netherlands have proposed a package of 10 measures that the European Union could use to curb gas prices and avoid fuel rationing, including looking into setting a new benchmark price for liquefied natural gas. The plan, seen by Reuters and shared with other EU countries before the bloc's energy ministers meet on Wednesday, calls for the EU to kickstart joint gas buying, to avoid one country outbidding another and driving prices higher.

Foreign bank branches in the European Union would not automatically become a costlier subsidiary if their business reached a certain "systemic" size, the Czech EU presidency proposed on Thursday, Reuters reported. The EU's executive European Commission surprised foreign banks last October when it proposed tightening oversight of how foreign banks can serve customers in the 27-member bloc. The move follows Britain's exit from the EU, which has left a competing major global banking centre on its doorstep.

A group of countries including Poland, Italy and Greece have drafted a proposal for the European Union to introduce a "dynamic price corridor" for gas, in a bid to pull down high energy prices and soaring inflation, Reuters reported. "The corridor would apply to all wholesale transactions, not limited to import from specific jurisdictions and not limited to specific use of natural gas," said a draft of the countries' proposal, seen by Reuters.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will impress upon EU leaders meeting this week the need for a gas price cap and to ensure any financial support measures allow fair competition, Reuters reported. EU governments have debated a gas price cap for weeks, without reaching agreement. While a majority of EU members support some form of cap, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands are opposed, citing concerns over security of supply.

European Union countries reached a compromise on a new package of Russia sanctions that includes support for a price cap on oil sales to third countries, with a formal agreement expected on Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported. EU ambassadors on Tuesday night discussed ways to mitigate the impact the new package would have on countries with large shipping industries. Greece, Cyprus and Malta expressed concerns about curbs on transporting Russian oil and have been pushing for assurances on the effectiveness of the new mechanism and its potential impact.

European Union finance ministers on Tuesday added Anguilla, the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands to the EU list of tax havens, expanding the roster to 12 countries, Reuters reported. Turks and Caicos Islands, near the Bahamas and Cuba, are listed for the first time. The Bahamas were already once listed in 2018 and then taken off, and Anguilla once in 2020. "Fair taxation of businesses benefits all of us.

The European Commission has warned EU countries that a broad cap on gas prices could be complex to launch and pose risks to energy security, amid calls from countries for Brussels to step in to tame high fuel prices, Reuters reported. The Commission shared a document with countries on Wednesday, analysing various options the EU could consider to curb high gas prices, after 15 of the bloc's 27 member states this week urged the EU to propose a cap on gas prices.

Although investigations into the simultaneous leaks in Nord Stream pipelines are in their early stages, European leaders, NATO and E.U. officials on Wednesday are firmly pointing to sabotage as the cause for the blasts, the Washington Post reported. Danish and Swedish authorities detected underwater explosions Monday and reported three breaches on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, pouring tons of methane into the Baltic Sea. Seismologists in Denmark and Sweden said the two blasts they detected did not appear to be earthquakes, landslides or other natural activity.