Germany, Italy clash over EU gas prices

Germany has rejected accusations from Italy that its recent natural gas (XNGUSD) purchases are pushing European prices higher, as benchmark gas briefly exceeded €100 per megawatt hour. A spokeswoman for Germany’s Economy Ministry said the government "firmly" rejects the claim that procurement and storage of natural gas (XNGUSD) by state‑owned SEFE Securing Energy for Europe GmbH are driving up European gas prices. The comments follow days of heightened concern over energy costs as wholesale gas prices in Europe return to levels last seen during the 2022 energy crisis.

Italian officials argue that Germany’s decision to replenish storage facilities late in the season has contributed to the latest price spike. At a conference in Milan, Alessandro Noce, director general for energy markets and infrastructure at Italy’s energy ministry, linked German stockpiling to the move above €100 per megawatt hour and suggested prices would otherwise be closer to €70. He warned that if January is particularly cold, prices could rise further to between €150 and €180 per megawatt hour, presenting this as a potential scenario rather than a forecast.

The dispute is sharpened by contrasting gas‑storage positions. Germany’s storage sites are about 61.7–62% full, compared with roughly 91% in Italy and an EU average of around 75%. Germany has acknowledged it will not reach its 70% storage goal that falls due on Sunday, underscoring the gap with some neighbours. Italy, by contrast, has spent about €300 million on winter preparations, encouraging companies to keep gas in storage to build a buffer ahead of colder months.

Italian officials argue that their early spending now leaves them exposed to higher costs as Germany enters the market to rebuild comparatively low inventories. Noce said Italy not only paid to fill its own storage but now faces elevated prices because of German buying. The political sensitivity reflects the fact that countries procure gas in an interconnected European market, so the timing and scale of purchases by a large consumer such as Germany can influence prices for others.

Berlin has moved to counter suggestions that its policies or corporate restructuring delayed storage filling. The Economy Ministry called accusations that Germany neglected storage because of planned privatizations of SEFE and Uniper "unfounded". Officials stated that both companies are fully meeting their storage obligations and that European transmission system operators and the European Commission consider current storage levels sufficient to secure supply this winter.

Germany has instructed SEFE to procure and store natural gas (XNGUSD) within a period of around two months. The ministry said the company was told to source about eight terawatt hours of gas, with volumes to come as much as possible from outside the European Union. Authorities argue that buying gas from non‑EU sources means much of this supply would not otherwise have been imported into the EU, thereby minimising the impact on European prices.

Beyond the German‑Italian dispute, European gas markets are under strain from broader geopolitical and supply factors. European governments are struggling to shield consumers from high energy costs and inflation amid conflicts in regions such as Iran, Ukraine and Yemen. Gas prices in October 2026 are about three times their level in late February, coinciding with the outbreak of Middle Eastern hostilities following a US‑Israel joint operation against Iran.

These pressures have fed through unevenly across the continent. In Romania, gas prices in October 2026 have doubled compared with the same month a year earlier, a development attributed primarily to the Middle Eastern conflict. Romania has responded by extending its price cap on natural gas for residential consumers until 31 March 2027. The combination of high wholesale prices, divergent national storage strategies and differing policy tools such as subsidies and price caps highlights the challenge of managing energy security within an integrated European market.