EU energy ministers on Monday agreed a natural gas price cap to help households and businesses cope with excessive price surges.

Under the agreement, a correction mechanism will be triggered when prices exceed €180 per megawatt-hour and the reference price by €35 for three consecutive days.

Only Hungary was against this price ceiling. Austria and the Netherlands abstained from the vote, while Germany supported it. All these countries were previously opposed to a price cap.

It will be possible to trigger this mechanism as of 15 February next year.