The European Commission is asking member states to cut back on oil and gas usage, especially in the transportation sector, as the energy crisis and supply disruption related to the Iran war escalate.<\/p>\n
In a letter to national energy ministers<\/a>, EU energy chief Dan J\u00f8rgensen said that governments should consider \u2018voluntary demand saving measures\u2019, pointing to preparation for \u2018prolonged disruption\u2019 as the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for liquefied natural gas and crude oil supplies, remains closed. The proposal by the Commission came as EU energy ministers are set to hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday, 31 March, to discuss how to address the crisis.<\/p>\n In his letter, seen by POLITICO Brussels, J\u00f8rgensen said Europe\u2019s transport sector faces rising costs and supply shortages due to the industry\u2019s heavy reliance on the Persian Gulf, from which the EU sourced over 40 per cent of its jet fuel and diesel imports. According to the outlet, that could mean governments \u2018asking citizens to drive or fly less to save fuel\u2019 for \u2018more essential purposes\u2019, as is already happening in some Asian countries.<\/p>\n J\u00f8rgensen added that the growing shortage is compounded by the \u2018limited availability of alternative suppliers and of refining capacity for specific products within the EU\u2019.<\/p>\n \u2018Member States should refrain from taking measures that may increase fuel consumption, limit the free flow of petroleum products or disincentivize EU refinery output,\u2019 J\u00f8rgensen said. He added that countries should consider the cross-border impact of national measures to preserve \u2018EU-wide coherence\u2019.<\/p>\n \u2018Europe\u2026faces its first major crisis since cutting off Russian gas and phasing out Russian oil\u2019<\/p>\n The senior energy official also recommended that countries boost monitoring and information-sharing, \u2018defer non-essential refinery maintenance\u2019 and consider increasing the adoption of biofuels to replace fossil fuel products.<\/p>\n The negative consequences of the month-long conflict<\/a> in the Middle East have hit Europe especially hard, as the continent faces its first major crisis since cutting off Russian gas and phasing out Russian oil following Moscow\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. Benchmark Dutch TTF gas prices jumped nearly 30 per cent in early March, briefly approaching \u20ac70 per MWh before stabilizing around \u20ac60. Overall, European gas prices have surged dramatically since the conflict began, in some cases rising by as much as 60 per cent.<\/p>\n Similarly, crude oil prices surged above $100 per barrel\u2014reaching their highest levels since the 2022 energy crisis\u2014as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of global oil and LNG flows pass, was severely disrupted and some Middle Eastern producers curtailed output.<\/p>\n In order to ease the impact, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n called on EU leadership to suspend sanctions<\/a> on Russian energy imports\u2014just as the US did<\/a> in some cases\u2014however, Brussels dismissed his call and reiterated that the bloc \u2018must continue to exert maximum pressure on Russia\u2019.<\/p>\n Instead, the Commission is now asking member states to cut back consumption and European citizens to \u2018fly or drive less\u2019 in order to save fuel. While the proposal is both hypocritical and ironical at best, it is not without precedent: during the 2022\u20132023 energy crisis, the Commission promoted lowering heating temperatures<\/a> in government buildings and homes and introduced a 15 per cent voluntary gas demand reduction target for member states.<\/p>\n