European Union countries’ energy ministers must decide today, December 13, if they are ready to reach a deal on an EU-wide gas price cap, the Czech Republic’s industry minister, Jozef Sikela, said.

“This is now purely up to the ministers to show if they are ready to reach an agreement or not”, - Sikela said on his arrival to a meeting of EU energy ministers in Brussels, where they aim to agree on the price cap.

The Czech Republic holds the EU’s rotating presidency and is responsible for drafting negotiation texts for EU countries. Sikela said the country had put a “feasible” proposal on the table, which addressed countries’ various concerns over the gas price cap.

Greece and other countries including Belgium, Italy and Poland say a cap is needed to shield their economies from high energy prices, while Austria, Germany and the Netherlands fear it could divert much-needed gas cargoes from Europe.

“Everybody has to show some flexibility and everybody has to be able to propose some compromises”, EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson said.

A senior EU diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was probable none of the 27 EU member states was happy with the proposal.

If no deal is reached on Tuesday, the debate would likely get escalated to a meeting of EU country leaders on Thursday, before energy ministers meet again next week.