EU losing $600M a day due to the impact of Iran war on energy prices
AP News • • world
Key Points:
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged EU countries to direct energy aid primarily to vulnerable households and industries to avoid wasting billions amid rising oil and gas prices caused by the Iran war.
- The conflict, along with Iran's retaliation such as blocking the Strait of Hormuz, is costing the EU nearly €500 million daily, raising fuel prices and threatening jet fuel shortages.
- Von der Leyen emphasized the need for the EU to reduce dependency on imported fossil fuels by expanding renewable energy and nuclear power, following lessons learned from the 2022 fuel crisis linked to Russian energy supply cuts.
- Since 2022, the EU has significantly reduced Russian energy imports, with gas imports dropping from 45% to 12%, coal banned, and oil imports falling to 2%, except in Hungary and Slovakia.
- EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen described the Iran war energy crisis as potentially as severe as the 1973 and 2022 crises combined, stressing that Europe's supply security largely depends on Middle East developments.
