EU Expects Very High Energy Prices This Winter

European Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said the EU faces no immediate energy supply crisis, but warned that high prices could affect families unable to afford adequate heating or commuting costs. The Danish commissioner noted that nearly 50 million Europeans do not properly heat their homes during the winter, highlighting the social risks posed by another energy price shock, Euronews reports. “We are looking at all ideas that could help make the rules more flexible, improve their implementation and do everything possible on both the supply and demand sides,” Jørgensen said on the sidelines of an informal meeting of EU energy ministers in Dublin on Tuesday. The European commissioner welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron’s call to temporarily ease certain fuel requirements so that refineries could produce more diesel and other petroleum products and thereby increase domestic supply. Asked whether another emergency release of oil from strategic reserves was possible, International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol, who also attended the Dublin meeting, said such a measure was not a priority. According to Birol, countries have already drawn on up to 20% of their strategic reserves, while around 80% remains available in case of a serious deterioration in supply conditions and governments agree on further action. The EU’s top energy official also confirmed that the European Commission intends to postpone by one year the implementation of certain methane rules concerning imports. He said this would help ease pressure on energy markets without jeopardizing the EU’s long-term climate goals.