EU leaders reach compromise on energy after long debate

EU leaders struggled for hours Friday to find a compromise on a deal aimed at curbing energy prices that have gone through the roof and hurt households and businesses across the 27-nation bloc

BRUSSELS -- European Union leaders struggled for hours Friday to find a compromise on a deal aimed at curbing energy prices that have gone through the roof and hurt households and businesses across the 27-nation bloc.

There was a clear rift between the bloc's southern and northern nations during the day-long talks in Brussels, with Mediterranean countries led by Spain pushing for intervention on the market with measures like price caps while Germany and the Netherlands resisted drastic options.

Leaders, however, did agree on a proposal from the European Commission to move toward the joint purchase of natural gas and ensuring that the bloc’s storage facilities are nearly full to try to avoid another energy crisis tied to the EU’s dependency on Russian energy.

The war in Ukraine has made EU nations realize they have been way too reliant on Russia for natural gas and oil to warm their homes and run their industries.