EU leaders seek to safeguard energy supplies as prices soar

By MIKE CORDER, RAF CASERT and SAMUEL PETREQUIN
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders are meeting to discuss ways to ease the pain of soaring energy bills for consumers. They’re also seeking to safeguard energy supplies to the 27-nation bloc by speeding up the transition away from polluting fossil fuels to sustainable alternatives. The energy debate at Thursday’s EU leaders’ summit comes amid soaring prices that are pummeling households and businesses still reeling from the pandemic. The summit is being held 10 days before the opening of a U.N. climate summit that is widely seen as the last chance to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The debate on spiraling energy prices also takes place against a backdrop of frosty relations with Russia, a key supplier of gas to Europe.