The European Union is considering reviving energy crisis measures it used in 2022 when Russia slashed gas deliveries, to address the unfolding disruption to energy markets caused by the Iran war, the bloc’s energy chief said yesterday.
Speaking after a virtual meeting of EU countries’ energy ministers to discuss their response, EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said the plans included proposals to curb grid tariffs and taxes on electricity.
“We don’t know how long this crisis will last. And since we don’t know how deep it will be, we are also preparing different opportunities and possibilities that look more like the ones we used under the crisis in 2022,” he said.
The EU introduced a suite of emergency policies in 2022, after Russia cut gas deliveries following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. They included an EU-wide cap on gas prices, a tax on energy companies’ windfall profits, and targets to curb gas demand.
Jorgensen said the Iran war would likely cause a prolonged disruption to energy markets.
“It will not be short, because even if there was a peace tomorrow, there will still be consequences, because energy infrastructure in the region has been ruined by war,” he told reporters after the meeting of EU ministers.
Europe’s heavy reliance on imported fuel leaves it exposed to the Middle East conflict’s impact on global energy prices. European gas prices have risen more than 70 per cent since the US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28.
The bloc’s supplies of crude oil and natural gas have not been hit directly by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, since Europe imports most of those energy sources from suppliers outside of the Middle East.
Jorgensen said Brussels was particularly concerned in the short term about Europe’s supply of refined petroleum products such as jet fuel and diesel.
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