The European Commission open the door to recover an extraordinary tax on energy companies to face the price rebound of energy caused by iran war. This has been pointed out by the community vice president and commissioner for Prosperity and Internal Strategy, Stéphane Séjournéwhen asked about the letter sent by several countries, including Spain, to demand a common response from Brussels for economic relief.
Séjourné recalled that the European Union has already activated a similar formula during the energy crisis triggered by the large-scale Russian invasion. “We already did it during the Ukrainian war: is part of the flexibility package that we can give to Member States”said the commissioner at the European Pulse Forum summit, held this Friday in Barcelona.
The community leader avoidednevertheless, anticipate an immediate decision and framed any steps in a broader analysis of the scope of the crisis. “There will be an important meeting of the College of Commissioners to evaluate the economic impact in each country. The response has to adapt to the impact and duration of the crisis,” he explained. And he added an idea that summarizes the moment that Brussels is going through: “There is a very great uncertainty about how long this crisis will last, and it changes hour by hour. The answer also has to change.”
The first vice president of the Government and minister of Economy, Commerce and Business, Carlos Body, receives the executive vice president of the European Commission for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, Stéphane Séjourné / Gabriel Luengas / Europa Press
Pressure from five European capitals
Séjourné’s words come after the Ministers of Economy of Germany, Italy, Austria, Portugal and Spain formally ask the Commission to study a European mechanism to tax the extraordinary profits of energy companies. In that letter, the five governments recall that they already defended this position at the Eurogroup meeting on March 27, 2026.
The ministers maintain that the current scenario of market volatility and fiscal restrictions forces us to act quickly. That is why they claim that Brussels ““should quickly develop a similar contribution instrument at EU level, with a solid legal basis”without preventing Member States from continuing to deploy their own national measures to contain the energy bill.
Those responsible for the economy emphasize this need for unity in the letter. In his opinion, a European tool of this type would send a clear signal to citizens and the economy as a whole, by showing “unity and ability to act” in a time of maximum uncertainty.
USA, questioned as an ally
The impact of the Iran war on the geopolitical chessboard, with the questioning of the US as an ally, focused much of the discussion. Javi Lopez, vice president of the European Parliamentwarned that “Unfortunately, the current US Administration is not acting as an ally“, a finding that, in his opinion, forces the European Union to rethink its strategic position. “This means that we have to reduce dependencies, especially in security, but not only, and adapt to this new reality,” he stressed.
“He single market is probably our greatest geopolitical asset and also a key tool for our security,” argued López, defending that the European response to the call for European rearmament by the defense commissioner, Andriu Kubilius, must rely on its own structural strengths.
In the same line, Camille Grand, Secretary General of the European Association of Aerospace, Security and Defense Industriesmaintained that ““The transatlantic relationship is going to change profoundly”. In his opinion, factors such as “the debate over Ukraine, the Greenland episode, the question of Iran and the threats of withdrawal from NATO” show that “we are in a different situation.” Despite this, he stressed that “the majority of Europeans want to preserve the alliance with the United States,” although he assumed that “Europe will have to assume much more responsibility for its own security.”
The debate is about how the EU should take that step forward. For Martin Sklenár, former defense minister of Slovakia and a leading member of GLOBSEC’s Future of Security programme, Europe must appear before President Donald Trump with a clear proposal. “What Washington now expects from Europe is ambition, a plan and a clear idea of how to confront this situation.“, he stated. In his opinion, if Europe came to the US with a defined position – and, he gave as an example, “This is how we want to structure European defense; This is what we need from you, Mr. President” – the American president would take them seriously. “The conversation would be completely different,” he emphasized. His intervention reinforced the idea that the new context requires less dependence, more political initiative and a much more solid European defense strategy. The only thing that everyone agreed on was that Europe must learn to function in this new world order.
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