EU Energy Ministers Meet in Brussels as Fuel Prices Soar Before Winter

EU Energy Ministers Meet in Brussels as Fuel Prices Soar Before Winter

European Union energy ministers are meeting in Brussels on Thursday to tackle soaring fuel prices as the winter heating season approaches, with wars in Iran, Ukraine and Yemen pushing oil and natural gas prices sharply higher. Fighting has damaged refineries across the Middle East and Russia and disrupted flows through the Black Sea, the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, leaving Europe facing an expensive winter.

EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen warned on Wednesday that affordability is now as urgent as supply itself, saying available energy means little to households and businesses that cannot pay for it. European wholesale gas prices briefly touched 100 euros per megawatt-hour on Wednesday, the first time since December 2022, and are now trading at roughly triple their levels before the Iran war. Gas storage stands at just 75 percent of capacity, down from 83 percent a year ago.

Ministers will discuss a European Commission proposal to cut electricity bills through tax and grid-fee reforms, such as taxing electricity at a lower rate than natural gas. The Commission has also begun talks with European refineries on boosting output, including possibly easing some technical specifications, and Western powers agreed earlier this month to speed up the release of more than 400 million barrels of emergency oil stocks after pressure from the United States.

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