The Communication includes a “toolbox” that the EU and its Member States can use to address the immediate impact of current prices increases, and further strengthen resilience against future shocks.
Short-term national measures include emergency income support to households, state aid for companies, and targeted tax reductions.
Priority should be given to targeted measures that can rapidly mitigate the impact of price rises for vulnerable consumers and small businesses.
Immediate measures to protect consumers and businesses:
- Provide emergency income support for energy-poor consumers, for example through vouchers or partial bill payments, which can be supported with EU ETS revenues;
- Authorise temporary deferrals of bill payments;
- Put in place safeguards to avoid disconnections from the grid;
- Provide temporary, targeted reductions in taxation rates for vulnerable households;
- Provide aid to companies or industries, in line with EU state aid rules;
- Enhance international energy outreach to ensure the transparency, liquidity and flexibility of international markets;
- Investigate possible anti-competitive behaviour in the energy market and ask the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) to further enhance monitoring of developments in the carbon market;
- Facilitate a wider access to renewable power purchase agreements and support them via flanking measures.
These measures should be easily adjustable in the Spring, when the situation is expected to stabilise. The EU's long-term transition and investments in cleaner energy sources should not be disrupted.
The Commission will also support investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency; examine possible measures on energy storage and purchasing of gas reserves; and assess the current electricity market design.
The clean energy transition is the best insurance against price shocks in the future, and needs to be accelerated
