The Energy ministers of the European Union will meet this Thursday in Luxembourg to analyze the rise in fuel costs and the prospects for supply security ahead of winter, in a scenario of strong tension in the energy markets and while the European Commission weighs possible actions to boost production at refineries and contain the increase in fuel prices.
The meeting is being held one day after the European Commissioner for Energy, Dan Jorgensen, warned that the global diesel market will continue under intense pressure well into 2027, which will keep prices at elevated levels, and announced that Brussels will work with the sector to increase fuel production in Europe.
In this framework, the Twenty-Seven will hold a closed-door exchange on the short- and long-term energy outlook, focusing on the consequences of the current crisis, the risks to supply, and possible response paths to reduce the bloc's vulnerability to future disruptions.
The meeting will be mainly indicative in nature and no immediate adoption of concrete decisions on prices is expected, although it will serve for the member states to compare positions on the different alternatives being considered to ease the burden borne by households and businesses due to the rise in energy costs.
Among the matters that could be put on the table are proposals to strengthen European production of diesel and aviation fuel, after Jorgensen confirmed this Wednesday that he will convey to Energy officials the initiatives being studied by the Commission after meeting with representatives of European refineries and NATO.
At the same time, Spain maintains among its priorities the option of establishing a European levy on the extraordinary profits of energy companies, an initiative that the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, once again backed during the latest summit of EU heads of state and government.
Sources from the Ministry for the Ecological Transition have indicated that this position has already been communicated to the presidency of the Council, although they have avoided specifying whether the Spanish government plans to raise it again explicitly at the Luxembourg meeting or whether it has additional support among the EU partners.
In any case, the same sources consider that the Commission will likely try to focus the debate on the priorities set out in the conclusions of the latest European Council, so no tangible progress is anticipated around a possible common tax on energy companies.
Electric grids and the course of energy policy
Beyond the immediate response to the crisis, the ministers will hold a public debate on the European electricity grids, with an eye to achieving a more efficient use of the existing infrastructures, optimizing their operation and facilitating the electrification of the economy, one of the EU's major bets to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.
The Twenty-seven will also exchange views on the future framework of European energy policy beyond 2030, in a discussion aimed at guiding the Commission's upcoming legislative initiatives and in which aspects such as energy efficiency, interconnections and the deployment of renewable energies will be addressed.
Finally, the European leaders will analyze how to attract more private investment toward research and energy technologies, as well as the role of public resources in getting projects underway that help strengthen the competitiveness and energy security of the bloc as a whole.