The European Commissioner for Energy wants member states to lower energy taxes and move forward with interconnections, which Portugal has long requested
This Tuesday, the European Commissioner for Energy urged the Member States of the European Union (EU) to lower energy taxes and move forward with interconnections, long requested by Portugal, to lower the prices of energy bills.
In a letter sent this Tuesday to EU Energy Ministers – who met this Tuesday in Luxembourg –, the European Commissioner for Responsibility, Dan Jørgensen, notes that “prices remain too high compared to the main competitors”, which is “a burden”, especially for the most vulnerable consumers.
“No instrument, individually, will be enough to solve the price problem and that is why we need to act together on seven fronts”, adds the European Commissioner.
One of the responsible’s proposals is to reduce taxes, which currently weigh up to a third of the energy bill: “Reducing them has a real and immediate impact, particularly for energy-intensive industries and vulnerable consumers. The Commission will provide guidance and support on how Member States can move forward in this direction, which I strongly encourage you to explore.”
Furthermore, for Dan Jørgensen, “interconnections are fundamental to ensuring that everyone can have access to energy at the best cost”.
“I urge you to improve interconnection with your neighbors. The Commission will support this effort through the Networks package and the Energy Highways initiative”, he adds.
The European Commission will propose the creation of energy highways to increase interconnection, particularly electricity, in the EU, hoping that Portugal and Spain will benefit from such connections as they are energy isolated.
The Portuguese Government has been defending an increase in Portugal’s energy interconnection with the rest of the EU to 15% by 2030, through the construction of more interconnections.
Strengthening energy interconnections between Portugal and Spain and the EU has been discussed for several years, but due to France’s skepticism it never fully advanced, despite being important to increase energy security, reduce dependence on fossil fuels, reduce costs and facilitate the transition to renewable energy.
The European Commission shares Portugal’s opinion on the need to build more energy interconnections in the EU, particularly between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of the bloc, and will move forward with an action plan in the autumn while trying to dialogue with France.
In the letter sent this Tuesday to the responsible ministers, the European commissioner also suggests that countries use the flexibility foreseen to support the energy transition to advance with state aid, reallocate expenses from cohesion funds to issues such as storage and benefit from European Investment Bank programs.
Dan Jørgensen also wants faster licensing processes for the development of renewable energy and joint initiatives such as gas demand.
“These actions constitute a shared responsibility between Member States and the Commission”, he concludes.
