Europe eyes reducing energy demand amid soaring prices

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen underlined the need to reduce energy demand as part of measures to tackle the evolving crisis, along with soaring prices amid Middle East tensions.

Pointing to how the bloc's bill for fossil fuel imports increased by over €22 billion ($26 billion) in the past 44 days, von der Leyen listed a series of measures as she targeted the energy demand.

"The least expensive energy is the energy that is not used," she said while stressing the need to find a way to reduce the energy demand.

"We should reduce demand while fully respecting the free choice of consumers, so we are looking at energy efficiency levels such as renovation of buildings or the renewal of equipment in industrial operations," von der Leyen added.

The commission chief said the EU is considering bloc-wide coordination of member states’ gas storage filling to avoid market competition, as well as joint oil stock releases to maximize impact, while ensuring emergency measures do not affect the single market.

"What we are seeing in the Middle East is not some distant crisis, but in a world in which everything is connected, the effects are direct and they are immediate," von der Leyen further said.

She further warned that the bloc is paying a very high price for its "overdependency on fossil fuels."

"The grim reality for our continent is fossil fuel energy will remain the most expensive options in the years to come," she added.

She also noted that their strategy to decarbonize has been confirmed in recent years.

"Our objective is very clear. We need to scale up the homegrown, affordable, reliable energy," von der Leyen said.