In an increasingly unstable world, the First Vice-President and Commissioner for Competition of the European Commission, Teresa Ribera, is clear on the matter: "We are shaken by the feeling that the world order is faltering, and that the use of energy and raw materials and the dependencies between different powers are becoming a geopolitical weapon," she stated in Barcelona, ​​at an event organized by the Foundation for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (Funseam). But she was quick to point the way forward: "We must be aware of the progress we have made. The future is not written, but we must not let ourselves be swayed by the noise and pessimism." For the former Vice-President and Socialist Minister, the capacity for reaction of the different member states is key, especially given the major shock that Europe experienced with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which highlighted the excessive energy dependence and the response of severing the supply chain. While in 2022, 45% of the natural gas consumed by Europe came from Russia, this figure has now fallen to 12%.

The roundtable discussion between the European Commission's Vice President for Clean, Fair, and Competitive Transition, Teresa Ribera; Renault's CEO, Luca de Meo; and the director of the Bruegel Institute, Jeromin Zettelmeyer, was one of the most anticipated of the first day of the Círculo de Economía's Annual Meeting. On the one hand, because just a week ago the entire Iberian Peninsula went dark, and it was expected that the former Minister for Ecological Transition would take the opportunity to provide some information on the matter; on the other, because the European industry—and especially the automotive industry—is facing a complex situation in the face of Donald Trump's tariffs.

The reduction in the electricity bill will have to wait. The third vice-president and minister for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, admitted this Monday that the government still cannot approve the regulation that should allow a limit on the price of gas because it has not yet obtained the definitive green light from Brussels. Last Tuesday Ribera and her Portuguese counterpart, José Duarte Cordeiro, met the Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, and announced they had been given the green light by the Commission to set a limit on gas prices of around €50/MWh, pending only a few technical details. But the final agreement has not yet been reached and, therefore, Pedro Sánchez's government will not be able to approve the measure at this Tuesday's cabinet meeting as Ribera had announced.