European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has warned of the rising energy costs for the European Union caused by the conflict in the Middle East and urged member states to draw lessons from the last energy crisis.
"In just 60 days of conflict, our bill for fossil fuel imports has increased by over €27 billion ($31.6 billion), without one single molecule of energy in addition," von der Leyen told EU lawmakers on Wednesday in the French city of Strasbourg.
"We must reduce our overdependency on imported fossil fuels, and we must boost our homegrown, affordable, clean energy supply from renewables to nuclear in full respect of technology neutrality," she said.
After the US and Israel began attacks on Iran on February 28, Iran responded by effectively blocking the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to attack any vessels that did not obtain its permission to transit the waterway.
The blockade caused major disruptions to global trade, sending energy prices soaring and sparking frantic measures to prevent fuel shortages.
Von der Leyen said that in EU countries with a large share of renewables and nuclear power in the electricity mix, like Sweden, increases in gas prices are hardly noticeable for consumers.
The commission president also urged EU countries to draw lessons from the last energy crisis caused by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and to come up with measures designed to support those in need only.
"During the last crisis, only one quarter of the emergency support was targeted to vulnerable households and businesses," she said.
"In other words, more than €350 billion were spent on untargeted measures. And this had a huge impact on member states' finances, and it also undermined the measures to protect those most in need."
"Let's not make the same mistake again," she said.
