Europe is looking to set a price cap on Russian wholesale natural gas as Moscow turns up the pressure in a worsening energy crisis.
The European Commission's energy agency has urged EU member countries to bring in "emergency wholesale price cap" measures to manage gas supplies, and it has put forward the Russian plan as one option.
The price of energy in Europe has gone up since Russia curbed supply to countries in the region.
The gas price cap is part of a package of proposals meant to provide relief to households and businesses.
Ursula von der Leyen said thatPutin is using energy as a weapon. He won't succeed. Europe is going to win.
Russian natural gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 will not resume until sanctions against Moscow are lifted, according to a Kremlin spokesman.
Russia's natural-gas flows to Europe via theNord Stream 1 will remain shut down indefinitely, according to the company. The flows were only 20% of their total capacity.
Natural-gas futures in the Netherlands surged by as much as 36% in one day. In August, prices hit a record high of $340 euros per megawatt hour.
The EU is prepared to retaliate if Russia continues to cut energy exports to the bloc. Europe's reliance on gas has been accused of being used by Russia to retaliate against Western sanctions.
EU member states will look at the proposal, which would set a limit on what local buyers can pay for gas imports from Russia. The system of caps that vary from country to country depends on how they generate and use energy.
The report said that imposing a price cap could cause "force majeure" clauses in company contracts with Russia's Gazprom.
The G7 countries agreed to back a price cap on Russian oil in order to reduce Russian revenues from oil and gas sales despite sanctions. If the cap is put in place, Moscow will choke off its oil supplies to countries that abide by it.
The Dutch TTF gas futures were down about 12% on the ICE index.
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