EU urges help for consumers on energy prices

BRUSSELS — The European Union on Wednesday urged member countries to provide relief funds to consumers and small businesses hit hardest by rising gas and electricity prices, as criticism mounts that the bloc’s climate change fighting policies are fueling the problem.

In recent days, France and Spain have led the charge for change to the rules governing EU energy markets as the price surge ramps up already-high utility bills and increases pressure on many people already hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

Energy prices in Spain have reached all-time highs since the summer. The cost of electricity is set to climb Thursday to $332 per megawatt hour, a 26% rise over Wednesday’s price.

EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said that “providing targeted support to consumers, direct payments to those most at risk of energy poverty, cutting energy taxes, shifting charges to general taxation, are all measures that can be taken very swiftly under EU rules.”

The 27-country EU imports about 90% of its natural gas needs, compared to the U.S., which produces its own and where prices are lower.

Simson said the EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, plants to present next week a “toolbox” of short-term and medium-term measures that countries could adopt.

Some countries, including Italy, are interested in setting up a strategic gas reserve for use in emergencies.

At an EU summit in Slovenia on Wednesday, Italian Premier Mario Draghi said the idea of pooling resources in the way countries bought COVID-19 vaccines together “is very positive, not to find ourselves completely unprepared for spikes in energy prices.”

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban blamed higher energy prices on the EU Commission’s “Green Deal” policies for fighting climate change, which aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and make the trading bloc carbon-neutral by 2050.