Since the outbreak of the energy crisis, a special kind of political theater has been taking place in Brussels: the sham rapprochements between the Council and the Commission. This could be observed once again at the EU Council meeting this early Friday morning. On the one hand, there are the pseudo work orders from the member states: once again, the Council asked the Commission to present measures that the Berlaymont long since proposed. Whether joint gas procurement or the new price index for LNG imports – thanks for pointing that out, already in the works. It becomes completely absurd when the member states demand things from the Commission that they themselves have been dilly-dallying over – and for years at that: for example, faster permits for renewables or solidarity agreements for a gas emergency.