European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has urged the European Union to transform its energy consumption patterns to reduce its exposure to shocks and crises linked to imported fossil fuels.
Speaking in Strasbourg during a European Parliament debate ahead of the October EU summit, von der Leyen said the bloc needed to make strategic decisions now to secure Europe’s energy independence in the future.
She said imported fossil fuels should increasingly be replaced with clean electricity produced in Europe.
The Commission president pointed to progress already made in renewable energy production, noting that wind and solar power generated more electricity in the EU last year than all fossil fuels combined.
However, she said the bloc also needed sufficient infrastructure to deliver clean electricity to where it is needed. She therefore called for the adoption of an EU package of measures concerning electricity grids, saying the proposal was already before the EU’s co-legislators and expressing hope that an agreement could be reached by the end of the year.
Von der Leyen said increasing clean electricity production and improving transmission infrastructure would not be enough on their own. Europe must also increase the share of electricity in its overall energy consumption.
Electricity currently accounts for less than one quarter of the EU’s final energy consumption. The European Commission’s electrification action plan aims to double that share by 2040.
According to von der Leyen, reaching the target could reduce the EU’s fossil fuel import bill by around €260 billion a year.
She added that the Commission would present further measures in the coming months to support the transition.
‘Every electron of clean energy we produce and use in the European Union is energy we do not have to import from unpredictable global markets,’ von der Leyen said.
The Commission president also said the EU intended to strengthen joint energy purchasing and launch a strategic dialogue with European oil refineries to reduce costs and strengthen security of supply, including for the defence sector.
‘The EU intended to strengthen joint energy purchasing and launch a strategic dialogue with European oil refineries’
She said higher energy prices had increased Europe’s spending on fossil fuel imports by €100 billion since the end of February.
Over the same period, natural gas prices had risen by 140 per cent while diesel prices had doubled, von der Leyen said. She warned that the pressure was affecting both businesses and households and could intensify as winter approaches.
Von der Leyen called for immediate measures to address the impact of high energy prices. In the short term, she advocated targeted support for people on the lowest incomes.
She rejected broad-based subsidies, arguing that they would increase demand, disproportionately benefit higher-income households and impose significant costs.
She said the EU would further develop the joint energy purchasing system established after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Von der Leyen also outlined measures aimed at the supply side of the energy market.
Following the G7 agreement to release 100 million barrels of oil and diesel from strategic reserves, the EU plans to give exporters an additional year of flexibility in applying EU methane rules. The aim is to avoid additional costs during the current energy market crisis, she said.
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