Wars in the Middle East and Ukraine are driving governments across Europe to craft subsidies, taxes and policy revisions that might shield their economies, companies and increasingly aggrieved citizens from record gasoline and diesel prices.
Countries around the world have intervened to limit the economic impact of diminished energy supplies and soaring fuel prices since the start of the Iran war, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Seven of the 10 nations working most actively to contain the economic damage are in the European Union, the OECD said in a report published Wednesday.
Lithuania cut train ticket prices in half. Greece is taxing gambling more to fund public relief efforts. Italy delayed the scheduled demolition of coal-fired power plants and slashed the required paperwork for oil and natural gas projects. The Netherlands increased funding for a program that provides free energy-saving services in homes. Poland has proposed heavily taxing the record profits of certain fuel producers and sellers.
Before the United States and Israel attacked Iran, Russia's war in Ukraine disrupted global energy supplies and caused turmoil in Europe. The EU imports nearly all of the oil it uses and 85% of its natural gas. Overall, imports supply 57% of the bloc's energy needs, with much of its domestically produced energy coming from renewable and nuclear sources, according to the EU's statistical office.
Europeans are becoming more incensed as pump prices surpass the equivalent of $12 a gallon in some countries.
EU citizens are spending an extra 203 million euros ($231 million) a day just for diesel fuel, according to the European advocacy organization Transport & Environment.
It's a cruel irony that the US is the least vulnerable to a crisis of its own making, while Europe's economy again takes the hit, Antony Froggatt, an analyst at the organization, said.
Some European governments are spending billions to help their countries weather the current energy crisis.
EU leaders in Brussels gave member nations temporary discretion to provide state aid to households and energy-intensive industries like agriculture, transportation and fishing. They also offered limited leeway from EU spending rules for investments that strengthen energy security and reduce the bloc's long-term reliance on imported oil and natural gas.
The pressures from higher energy prices and borrowing costs are biting for people and for businesses, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in her annual State of the European Union address last week. We need to double down on our affordable, homegrown, clean energy, be it renewables and nuclear, or biomethane and others to give us independence and drive down energy prices.
France rolls out subsidies for diesel and “big drivers