Teresa Ribera, Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Affairs, announced on Tuesday an agreement with the European Commission to extend the exemption for Iberia until December 31, which will be submitted to the Council of Ministers today, although formal adoption has not yet been finalized. , according to Brussels.

“This is a tool that will allow us to continue to protect Spanish and Portuguese consumers until the end of the year,” he said upon his arrival in Brussels for the next meeting of European Union (EU) energy ministers.

As the minister explained, this decision implies not only an extension of the already applied Iberian exemption, but also involves some “adjustments to take it into account”, such as a reference to the price, which has so far increased by five euros per month, and will now be “softer”, about two euros.

“The curve that this link has been increasing every month is getting longer and smoother,” the minister said, explaining that it will go from 55 euros in the current link to 65 euros in December.

However, he pointed out that if natural gas prices remain at current prices, the mechanism will probably not be activated, although if necessary, it will keep the price “reasonable”, not so “dependent” on the evolution of natural gas. . . .