EU lawmakers debate rising energy prices

European Union leaders enter a crucial stretch this week to make sure runaway energy prices and short supplies do not further tank their struggling economies and foment unrest. At the same time, they need to keep all 27 members united in their opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Leading up to Thursday's start of a key summit, EU lawmakers met on Tuesday to discuss the gap between those who want to impose a common gas price cap to keep prices down and those who think it would primarily keep out supplies, further starving industries and businesses.

Iratxe Garcia Perez, head of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group in the European Parliament, called for a winter solidarity package from the EU.

"We can't wait any longer because we can't let people have to choose between heating or eating," she said.

Going into the weekend, EU leaders will seek a compromise during two days of talks.

Within in the EU, the wealthy bloc of 450 million has been struggling to find ways to keep freezing temperatures from entering the homes of the poorest and businesses from going down for lack of affordable energy.

Manon Aubry, an EU lawmaker from the Left group said: "People are missing meals, having to scrap their leisure activities. And families have to choose between filling up their cars or turning on the heating."

Against such a background of potential social foment, EU leaders are in line to agree on a system to pool buying of gas to make sure member states stop bidding against one another to boost reserves and push up energy prices overall.

To counter the threat of business failures and industrial decline, EU nations have independently started subsidizing threatened sectors, at the risk of skewing the market.