War in Iran pushes EU towards energy saving

2026-04-08 11:28:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The European Union's key oil and gas groups will meet this week as countries around the bloc scramble to deal with the impact of the United States and Israel's war with Iran on energy prices and supplies.

European Commission spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said during a press conference on April 7 that the oil coordination group will meet on April 8, while the gas group will convene the day after.

The EU is facing energy-saving measures, such as reducing air travel, speed limits on highways and work-from-home guidelines, after the war resulted in the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the corridor through which about 20 percent of the world's oil and gas transits.

Last month, the bloc's energy ministers held an emergency meeting, and although they did not agree on concrete measures, European Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen promised that Brussels would soon announce a package of measures at the bloc's level.

According to EU officials familiar with the matter and who spoke to Radio Free Europe on condition of anonymity, these measures could include more flexible rules on state aid for energy companies as well as a push for more renewable energy and nuclear power.

The measures could include more dramatic emergency moves – similar to when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 – such as imposing an EU-wide price cap on gas and taxes on large profits on energy companies.

The 27-nation bloc is already bracing for a major economic blow if the war drags on. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters last week that the burden on the EU economy could be as severe as during the COVID-19 pandemic or as during the early months of the war in Ukraine.

Before the meeting of energy ministers, Jorgensen sent a letter to member states, seen by Radio Free Europe, in which he stressed that "while the EU's direct exposure to the conflict in the region is limited, we depend on global markets for fossil fuel supplies, in direct competition with other consumers."

Countries including Italy, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Croatia and France have already adopted several measures to ease the impact, following the sharp rise in prices and supply disruptions resulting from the war in Iran.

While Europe has diversified in recent years, with most imports now coming from Algeria, Azerbaijan, Norway and the United States, rising global demand due to dwindling supplies means that prices at the petrol pump have also risen in the EU.

But the EU is more dependent on so-called refined petroleum products, meaning materials derived from the processing of crude oil, such as diesel, asphalt and especially kerosene, which is essential for modern aircraft engines, with around 40 percent of supplies coming from the Persian Gulf.

Jorgensen's letter said that the shortage of these products "is of particular concern in the short term" and suggested that "member states are invited to consider promoting demand-side savings measures, in line with emergency plans, with particular attention to the transport sector."

Some airlines have already signaled they may reduce the number of flights on some routes. The last shipments of kerosene that passed through the Strait of Hormuz before its closure are expected to arrive in Europe next week.

The letter also refers to the International Energy Agency's latest 10-point recommendation, which includes measures to reduce energy consumption, such as working from home, reducing air travel, reducing car use and alternative use of private cars on the road, lowering the speed limit by 10 kilometers per hour, and discouraging the use of liquefied natural gas for cooking.

The letter also calls on member states to postpone any non-emergency refinery maintenance and increase the use of biofuels to replace fossil fuels. /REL