By Kate Abnett

BRUSSELS. (Reuters.) – Tensions are rising among European Union member states ahead of an emergency meeting on Tuesday of Ministers to discuss their responses to a surge in energy prices. A few countries seek a regulatory overhaul, while others remain opposed.

European gas prices hit new highs this autumn, and they have been at record-breaking levels for the past few months. Most EU countries responded by imposing price caps and subsidizing consumers to cut their energy bills.

However, countries are having difficulty agreeing on a long-term plan for balancing against price swings in fossil fuels. This is something Spain, France and the Czech Republic believe warrants a more radical overhaul of EU’s energy markets.

On Tuesday, ministers representing these countries will present their case for decoupling European electricity & gas prices, joint buying of gas among countries in order to create emergency reserves and delaying plans to address climate change.

Nine countries, including Germany, Europe’s largest economy and biggest market for electricity on Monday stated that they will not be supporting EU reforms to the electricity market. This is a sign of possible differences at this meeting.

The countries stated in a joint declaration that “this will not be an answer to the rising energy prices associated with fossil fuels markets.”

European Commission asked regulators for an analysis of the European electricity market design. However, they found no evidence to suggest that any other market structure would have performed better in the current price rise.

“Any intervention on the market or the decoupling [gas and power]One diplomat from the EU said that pricing is off the table and added that most countries were not interested in such measures.

Some other proposals, like countries setting up joint gas reserves, are not quick fixes and can take many months to work out. The earliest such proposal is the one from the European Commission to improve EU gas market regulation in order to make it more greener. It was due December.

The energy price rise has sparked tensions among countries about the EU’s green policies. This clash is just a few days away from the international COP26 summit on climate change.

Viktor Orban, the Hungarian Prime Minister, dismissed these plans as “utopian fantasies”. This is in contrast to other EU members who believe that the price rise should prompt a quicker switch to locally-produced renewable energy to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuel prices.