PARIS, Sept 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) – French President, Emmanuel Macron, announced yesterday that France and Germany will help each other through the energy crisis and get by the winter.
Speaking at a press briefing, after a videoconference with German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, Macron said, France is ready to deliver more gas to Germany, while the latter will offer more electricity to France, if the current energy crisis persists in winter.
“We are going to finalise the gas connections, in order to be able to deliver gas to Germany. Germany will produce more electricity to bring to us in extreme situations,” Macron said.
The French president said that he was in favour of solidarity measures at the European level, to deal with the current energy crisis.
“We are in favour of common gas purchasing practices that will make it possible to buy cheaper,” he explained.
However, he said, there was “no need” for a gas pipeline, linking France and Spain.
Concerning the high energy prices in Europe, Macron proposed to set up control mechanisms for speculative operations at the European level.
Days ahead of a European Union (EU) energy ministers’ meeting, Macron said that, he supports a price cap on gas purchased from Russia at the EU level.
Macron assured his countrymen that France is not in a situation for energy rationing, but called on people to limit heating to 19 degrees Celsius to save energy.
“If we collectively know how to behave more soberly and save energy everywhere, then there will be no rationing or cuts,” he stressed.
On Friday, Macron chaired a Defence Council meeting on the energy crisis. French Minister for Energy Transition, Agnes Pannier-Runacher, said after the meeting that, France’s gas reserves were 92 percent full in preparation for possible shortages this winter.
According to the minister, 32 of the country’s fleet of 56 nuclear reactors are currently offline for routine maintenance, but French multinational electric utility company, EDF, has committed to restarting all of them for this winter.– NNN-AGENCIES
