EU member countries reach compromise on gas price cap

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union ministers have finalized a long-awaited deal to implement a natural gas price cap that they hope helps households and businesses better weather price surges. EU member countries had failed to overcome their differences at previous emergency meetings, but several EU leaders said last week that fixing a maximum ceiling to pay for gas was likely to be achieved this time. After talks in Brussels on Monday, the Czech presidency of the European Council said a deal was reached. Since it could not find a consensus on the divisive topic, the Czech presidency opted for a “qualified majority” as the voting rule to get the political agreement.