As winter nears, European Union countries ​are grappling with an unprecedented energy crisis. Cuts in Russian ​natural gas supplies have seen prices rise by 150 ​percent ​or more across Europe, and as the impasse over a solution ​has dragged on, cracks in the union ​are beginning to show.

For months EU countries have presented a plethora of solutions that range from bloc-wide price caps, joint purchases on the international market and decoupling of the price of gas and electricity.

"First, we will incentivize the demand reduction; then we will ensure solidarity among member states," said Kadri Simson, EU Energy Commissioner. "We will also intervene, and we will facilitate the joint purchase of gas, and all these four streams will reinforce each other and help us to limit prices and ensure the security of supply."

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Ahead of the talks, most EU countries agreed on a gas cap, but there was disagreement on how it should be applied. Some member states favored decoupling the price of gas from electricity to bring down prices, as Spain and Portugal have done. 

Germany and the Netherlands have proposed using the economic power of the bloc to buy gas jointly from non-Russian suppliers. EU countries agree on the bloc's energy diagnosis. The problem is finding the right therapy.

Despite the challenges, EU commissioners have charted a way forward - they favor buying gas jointly on the international market.

"We are putting forward a proposal to facilitate the joint purchase of gas this will allow the EU to use our collective purchase power to limit prices and avoid member states to outbid each other on the market," said the energy commissioner. 

Energy experts say the time for waiting is over. Europe's energy crunch, they fear, will be severe this winter without a long-term fix.

"I believe the most promising thing would be the decoupling of the price of gas and electricity," said Petr Holub, a spokesman for Greenpeace. "We suggested that as one of the solutions a few weeks ago, and we think it will bring immediate relief because the prices will go down."

Before the meeting, the bloc had already taken measures to cushion citizens from the unprecedented energy crunch. They imposed windfall taxes on energy companies' profits and agreed ​on targets to reduce energy ​consumption.