Šestintrideset milijonov Francozov je izročilo po 100 evrov zaradi inflacije z naraščajočimi cenami plina

• Vozniki s srednjimi dohodki bodo prejeli 100 evrov (84 funtov) finančne pomoči 
• Francoski premier Jean Castex je enkratno plačilo napovedal na televiziji
• Tisti, ki zaslužijo manj kot 2,000 evrov, bodo izplačilo začeli prejemati decembra 
• Medtem so se voditelji EU trudili doseči soglasje o energetski krizi
• A summit of the bloc’s leaders is being held in Brussels ahead of Cop 26 

Milijoni voznikov z nižjimi in srednjimi dohodki bodo v Franciji prejeli 100 evrov (84 funtov) finančne pomoči, da bi se lažje spopadli z naraščajočimi cenami goriva.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex has announced the move on TF1 television, saying that it was ‘an exceptional response to an exceptional situation’.

Enkratno plačilo bo pomagalo približno 36 milijonom ljudi, ki zaslužijo manj kot 2,000 evrov (1,680 funtov) na mesec, vključno z zaposlenimi, samozaposlenimi delavci, iskalci zaposlitve in upokojenci, je dejal gospod Castex.

Pomoč bodo začeli deliti decembra.

Ukrep prihaja sredi naraščajočega nezadovoljstva javnosti zaradi svetovnega energetskega krča, ki prihaja ravno v času, ko si številna gospodinjstva s težavo opomorejo od pandemije gospodarske krize.

Francoska vlada je prejšnji mesec obljubila denarno pomoč v višini 100 evrov za približno 6 milijonov gospodinjstev z nizkimi dohodki za pomoč pri plačilu računov za energijo.

Mr Castex, who had previously announced the government’s decision to freeze natural gas prices, said that measure would last until the end of next year.

The issue is especially sensitive after the anti-government ‘yellow vest’ movement which started in 2018 against a hike in fuel taxes — and was named after the fluorescent jackets French motorists are required to have in their cars.

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Hitro se je sprevrglo v splošen protest proti ekonomski krivici, ki je vodil v tedenske, včasih nasilne demonstracije.

The government’s move also comes ahead of France’s presidential election scheduled in April, where President Emmanuel Macron is expected to run for re-election.

Zvezdnik trdih desničarskih političnih pogovornih oddaj Eric Zemmour je bil v novi anketi, objavljeni v petek, napovedan za uvrstitev v drugi krog francoskih predsedniških volitev, čeprav je bil predsednik Emmanuel Macron še vedno napovedan za zmago v prvem krogu.

Medtem so se voditelji Evropske unije med dolgo četrtkovo razpravo trudili najti skupni jezik o tem, kako ublažiti bolečino skokovito visokih računov za energijo.

The hours-long energy discussion at the EU leaders’ summit came amid spiraling prices that are pummeling households and businesses still reeling from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Voditelji, ki potrebujejo takojšnje rešitve, skušajo tudi zaščititi oskrbo z energijo za blok 27 držav s pospešitvijo prehoda z onesnažujočih fosilnih goriv na trajnostne alternative.

Za pomoč potrošnikom in podjetjem to zimo so se voditelji strinjali, da bi bili znižanje davkov, državna pomoč in drugi ukrepi, kot je odlog plačila računov, ki jih predlaga Evropska komisija, koristni tako kratkoročno kot dolgoročno.

In their conclusions, they asked the EU’s executive arm to look into the gas and electricity markets, as well as the bloc’s emissions trading program, under which companies pay for carbon dioxide they emit. 

Namen je preveriti, ali bi lahko manipulacija trga vplivala na dvig cen ogljika.

Ni pa bilo govora o vzpostavitvi skupnega programa nabave zalog plina, zamisli, ki jo je nedavno predlagala Španija.

Pogovori so potekali le 10 dni pred začetkom podnebnega vrha ZN, ki ga mnogi razumejo kot zadnjo priložnost za omejitev globalnega segrevanja na 1.5 stopinje Celzija glede na predindustrijsko raven.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU’s executive and its member states already are working to ease the burden of soaring energy bills on households and businesses.

She said leaders also will have to look at the way energy markets function but stressed that ‘in the mid and long term, it is very clear that the strategy has to be to invest massively in clean and renewable energy’ produced in Europe.

Razprava o spiralnih cenah energije je potekala tudi v ozadju zaostrenih odnosov z Rusijo, ključno dobaviteljico plina za Evropo.

Von der Leyen said Wednesday that with the bloc importing 90% of its gas – much of it from strategic rival Russia – ‘this makes us vulnerable.’ Gas makes up one quarter of all European energy consumption.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called the energy price explosion this year the consequence ‘of a big geopolitical game.’

Von der Leyen has said that while Norway had raised its gas exports to the bloc to meet increased demand, Russia’s Gazprom had not gone beyond honoring its long-term contracts with the EU.

Gas prices have soared this year to 95 euros from about 19 euros per megawatt hour, affecting everything from household heating bills to farmers and food producers. The EU’s executive commission says that lower-income households are hardest hit because they spend a higher proportion of their income on energy. 

Številne države so že ponudile znižanje davka na energijo, da bi olajšale bolečino.

Medtem ko vsi voditelji želijo čim bolj zmanjšati vpliv naraščajočih cen energije na svoje prebivalstvo, se razlikujejo glede tega, kako to storiti.

Entering Thursday’s summit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the issue of soaring energy prices should be differentiated from the long-term fight against climate change.

‘I think that we should react calmly; we in Germany will do so in any case,’ she said.

Belgijski premier Alexander De Croo je dejal, da je njegova država med tistimi, ki gospodinjstvom in podjetjem pomagajo pri naraščajočih računih za elektriko. A je dodal, da je treba najti tudi dolgoročne rešitve.

‘And in the long term, there is only one solution – invest more in renewable energy so we are less vulnerable to price fluctuations for fossil fuels,’ he said.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has blamed the hike specifically on the Commission’s Green Deal plans that includes cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 and making the bloc carbon neutral by 2050.

Trenutna kriza je znova sprožila razpravo o tem, ali naj EU spodbuja projekte jedrske energije kot način za večjo energetsko neodvisnost. To bi lahko storili tako, da bi bili upravičeni do milijard evrov v okviru evropskega zelenega dogovora in sklada za okrevanje od koronavirusa.

Two years ago, leaders agreed that nuclear energy could be part of the EU’s efforts to become carbon-neutral. However, they have yet to decide whether nuclear projects can be included in the so-called taxonomy, a classification system attempting to define what activities can qualify for sustainable investment.

France recently asked for the inclusion of nuclear power in the taxonomy framework by the end of the year, leading the charge with nine other EU countries – Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Energetski ministri iz bloka se bodo sestali že naslednji teden, da bi nadaljevali pogovore, voditelji pa naj bi ponovno ocenili situacijo na naslednjem vrhu decembra.