EU Summit urgently focuses on energy issues, with clear internal divisions.

The escalating tensions in the Middle East have intensified fluctuations in the international energy market. As a result, the focus of the European Union summit held in Brussels on the 19th local time has urgently shifted from enhancing European competitiveness to energy issues. However, there are clear differences within the EU on how to address the current energy crisis. Although all parties agree on the urgency of addressing energy supply risks, there are significant disagreements on specific paths, and the summit sparked intense debates around the carbon emissions trading system. Ten countries including Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia believe that this system has exacerbated the rise in energy prices and harmed their domestic industries, urging the European Commission to reassess the system by the end of May at the latest. Meanwhile, eight countries including Spain, the Netherlands, and Denmark are calling for the stability of the carbon emissions trading system and oppose administrative intervention targeting carbon prices or market access rules.