The European Energy Crisis Explained

in February 2022 the Russian invasion of Ukraine sparked an unprecedented energy challenge for the European Union with many of its member states dependent on Russian fossil fuels the situation created a crisis with the potential to undermine EU solidarity what is being done at the EU level to combat the energy crisis and what are National governments doing to keep their citizens warm and the political climate cool in March 2022 the European commission announced repower EU a joint action plan to rapidly cut Russian gas consumption within the EU by two-thirds by the end of 2022 and completely phase out by 2027 repower EU covers three main areas saving energy to enhance long-term Energy Efficiency measures prepare for the upcoming winter and encourage member states to help households save on energy diversifying supplies and supporting International Partners to diversify its energy sources through Global Market suppliers and introduce a joint purchasing mechanism for all member states clean energy transition to accelerate Green Technology use and increase the eu's headline 2030 Target for Renewables from 40 to 45 percent let's take a look at three EU member states experiencing the energy crisis in different ways and what their governments are doing in response [Music] while Estonia shares a 183 mile border with Russia it is one of the least dependent EU member states on Russian energy nonetheless Estonia still saw elevated energy costs and in April the Estonian government paid out approximately 170 million euros to individuals and businesses to alleviate the price spikes in addition a newly implemented government program buys electricity at a regulated price of 19 cents per kilowatt for the next four years anyone in Estonia whose current electricity bill is more expensive will be automatically transferred to the new government-backed plan in 2021 55 of Germany's natural gas Imports were from Russia Germany's dependence on Russian gas has left citizens in Industry concerned about energy costs this winter and in years to come in an effort to reduce energy consumption Germany introduced a nationwide nine Euro monthly train ticket from June through August 2022 Germany has also lowered the value-added tax on natural gas from 19 to 7 percent until March 2024. in October 2022 the German Parliament approved a 200 billion Euro energy relief plan that will extend into 2024. measures include a one-time subsidy of 300 Euros to taxpayers with price caps on energy for households and businesses Greece's warm Mediterranean climate meant the energy Crisis began earlier there than for many of their European counterparts over several days in a April 2022 Greeks paid the highest energy costs in the EU prompting the government to issue a one-time relief payment of 200 Euros to all low-income pensioners to date the Greek government has spent 9 billion euros on subsidies to reduce energy prices in September 2022 94 percent of Greek household energy costs were covered by the government public sector energy consumption has a 10 percent reduction Target in 2022 with budget cuts threatened for departments that do not meet that threshold during an October 2022 visit to Greece German Chancellor Olaf Schultz stated Europe as a whole is suffering from the high prices of natural gas and I am convinced we can overcome the crisis only with solidarity as temperatures drop and energy costs continue to rise European solidarity will prevail only if member states remain steadfast in their commitment to Ukraine by phasing out rushing gas and supporting eu-wide solutions to the energy crisis

Channel: Bertelsmann Foundation

Views: 5,943

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Id: UlUGYBFXR2Q

Length: 4min 28sec (268 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 21 2023