47 million people in EU Member States live in energy poverty. This means they have no money to heat their homes. Moreover, businesses complain that high energy prices make them much less competitive with businesses in the US and China.
EU Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen however, told Euronews that a plan had been drawn up, which is expected to save a total of €2.5 trillion over the next 15 years. "Renewable energy is much cheaper than the fossil alternative. So it will lead to lower prices. Also, if we are better connected in Europe, our electricity system, so we will have more grids, we will have more interconnections, that will also reduce prices. And finally the gas market, we need to control that better to make sure that it doesn't have too high profits," he explained.
Recommendations to Member States on taxes and network charges
The plan includes administrative measures such as further reducing the time needed to obtain a renewable energy permit, promoting energy efficiency solutions and reviewing the components of household energy bills, namely network and system costs, taxes and charges and supply costs.
The Commission will make recommendations to Member States to, among other things, reduce national taxes on electricity and make it easier for consumers to switch suppliers to cheaper energy offers.
Member States have a key role to play in reducing electricity bills in the short term. The Commission will offer them support, particularly in the areas of taxation and network charges, where immediate action can be taken.
The Commission will make recommendations to Member States on how to effectively reduce the level of taxation on electricity and how best to make use of existing tax reduction opportunities for energy-intensive industries and households.
According to the Commissioner, the proposed measures will be reflected in the accounts already this year. "Thanks to these measures, we will already save around €45 billion in Europe next year. So, from now on, and then of course next year, it will increase. So the savings will be bigger. And in 2030 we will save more than €130 billion a year. So these are huge amounts. And of course it will mean not only better competitiveness for our industry, but also for our households," Jørgensen explained.
Energy security can still be improved
According to the Commissioner, it also has to do with security. Europe is still buying too much Russian gas, and since the outbreak of the war, European countries have imported enough gas from Russia to buy 2 400 F35 fighter jets. However, as the President of the European Commission said in a recent statement Ursula von der Leyen: "We reduce energy prices and increase competitiveness. By doubling the share of renewables, we have already significantly reduced energy prices in Europe. Now we are going one step further with the Affordable Energy Action Plan, which is part of our Clean Industrial Agreement. It will help us achieve more predictable prices, stronger interconnections across Europe and greater energy uptake. We will systematically remove the remaining barriers so that we can build a real energy union."
euronews/ gnews.cz - RoZ
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