Brussels – We must face reality. A reality that tells us the coming winter will be “difficult” for many citizens, given that over 50 million Europeans will be unable to “heat their homes adequately.” This was confirmed by the European Commissioner for Energy, Dan Jørgensen, at a press briefing on the sidelines of today’s Energy Council (29 October) opening in Luxembourg. The Commissioner is calling on Member States to “adopt targeted and temporary measures” to help the most vulnerable citizens cope with rising energy prices, without losing sight of the goal of reducing dependence on fossil fuels. “Electrification, heat pumps, electric cars: these are all measures that can be supported and that make a difference, even in the short term,” he stressed.
Jørgensen’s message to the EU-27 is clear: “Do everything possible to phase out fossil fuels as quickly as possible” by focusing on renewables, energy efficiency and electrification. The Commissioner acknowledged that in some countries there may be a temptation to subsidise fossil fuels directly, a measure that may be necessary in certain circumstances, particularly to protect the most vulnerable groups.
On the subject of security of supply, the Swedish Minister for Energy, Ebba Busch, drew attention to the risk that the EU might simply be replacing one form of energy dependence with another. “This is the second energy crisis in four years. I am very concerned that, following the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, we are still merely shifting our dependence: we are moving from Russian gas to American gas,” she said. The US’s involvement in the Strait of Hormuz, she added, has made this shift “problematic, to say the least”. According to Busch, the priority must be European energy independence and phasing out fossil fuels.
The German deputy energy minister, Frank Gunter Wetsel, meanwhile, offered reassurances on energy supplies. While acknowledging that “gas storage levels in Germany are lower than in previous years”, he explained that in October – a month normally characterised by withdrawals in preparation for winter – “no gas withdrawals were recorded”, but rather a slight injection. Berlin can also count on stable imports, fully operational liquefied natural gas terminals and a diverse range of suppliers.
Energy security will be one of the key topics at the meeting, alongside the Commission’s proposed regulation to make electricity bills more sustainable by reducing system costs and promoting electrification and digitalisation. Presented on 17 July, the proposal aims to make network tariffs more transparent and efficient, support smart grids and smart meters, and introduce tax measures to encourage electrification. Ministers will also discuss price pressures linked to the Russian war against Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, as well as the objectives of efficiency, resilience, interconnection and electrification to be integrated into the post-2030 energy framework, in line with the European climate target for 2040 and climate neutrality by 2050.
Italy has already expressed reservations regarding the regulation on network charges. The Minister for the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, has called for the protection of national regulatory autonomy and the deletion of Article 18c, which relates to tax provisions. According to the minister, granting the Commission powers to harmonise tariff criteria “risks undermining the independence of national regulators and failing to comply with the correct legal basis in tax matters”. He argued that the provision could also have significant consequences for Italian tax revenue or lead to higher costs for households and businesses, contrary to the objective of promoting electrification.
Among the issues to be raised on the sidelines of the meeting, six countries – Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Italy and Slovakia – will also present an informal document (non-paper) calling for a long-term European strategy to safeguard the competitiveness of refineries. The signatories distinguish between the security of crude oil supplies and that of refined products, stressing Europe’s dependence on imports of processed fuels and critical by-products, such as sulphur and helium. The aim is to prevent the closure of refineries from reducing European industrial capacity and jeopardising economic stability and defence requirements.
On the sidelines of the Council meeting, Pichetto Fratin attended the Nuclear Alliance meeting, which Italy joined as a member in June 2025, reiterating Italy’s support for “an approach based on technological neutrality and on the freedom of Member States to choose their own energy mix”. The Minister noted the entry into force, on 15 October, of the enabling act on sustainable nuclear energy and the work currently underway on the implementing decrees. Alongside electrification, he concluded, “Italy is also focusing on hydrogen, renewable gases, biofuels and carbon capture and storage technologies”.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
