Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have adopted a resolution in Strasbourg, France, asking for immediate action to reduce the cost of electricity for vulnerable households and companies.

“MEPs argue that exceptional times require exceptional emergency measures,” the parliament said in a statement.

In the middle of September, the European Commission proposed a series of measures to ease the burden of rising electricity prices.

These included a reduction of electricity demand at peak hours, a revenue cap on low-cost electricity producers, and a temporary solidarity contribution from the fossil fuel sector.

On Sept. 30, the EU member states’ energy ministers examined these proposals and reached a political agreement on them but stopped short of agreeing on capping natural gas prices.

On Wednesday, MEPs said that the price of gas imported via pipelines, primarily from Russia, should be capped.

They also called for a full embargo on Russian fossil and nuclear fuels. Demanding a tax on windfall profits, the MEPs warned that companies active in the fossil fuel sector might try to escape the solidarity levy taken from their taxable profit and asked for provisions to prevent tax avoidance.

Further proposals to ease the burden of high electricity bills for European households and businesses are expected to be presented at the informal summit of the EU member states’ leaders in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, on Friday. 

(Xinhua/NAN)