Cyprus Energy Minister Damianos urges EU to step up support — Cyprus Mail
Cyprus Energy Minister Michael Damianos, during an informal two-day meeting of energy ministers from the EU’s 27 countries in Dublin, Ireland, called on the European Union to provide more support and adequate funding to overcome the consequences of the energy crisis. As Cyprus Mail reports, he also stressed the need to reduce energy costs for households and businesses.
Energy cost and security issues
According to Damianos, participants in the meeting discussed energy affordability, consumer empowerment, electrification and energy efficiency. Other topics included energy security, energy interconnections and the protection of critical infrastructure.
European Commissioner for Energy Dan Jørgensen said that several months after the start of the conflict in Iran, Europe is still experiencing an energy price crisis. According to him, the situation around the Strait of Hormuz is showing almost no improvement, geopolitics remains unstable, and prices are highly volatile.
Jørgensen also said that since the beginning of the conflict in spring, the EU has spent more than €100 billion extra on fossil fuel imports without receiving additional volumes of energy. In his view, this demonstrates the risks and high cost of dependence on imported fossil fuels.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Call for targeted assistance
The European Commissioner said that the EU sees no immediate threat to Europe’s energy supply this winter, but high bills and fuel prices remain a problem for citizens and companies. He called on member states to apply temporary and targeted measures to mitigate costs and direct available budget flexibility towards investments in clean energy.
According to Jørgensen, the European strategy should combine accelerating the clean energy transition and structural changes with practical support for member states, companies and citizens during the transition period. Earlier, a European Commission representative told Cyprus Mail that reducing VAT on fuel would not comply with EU law.
In Cyprus this week, the price of diesel fuel reached €2 per litre, while petrol cost about €1.68 per litre. Cyprus Finance Minister Makis Keravnos said that the government had taken measures over two years which, according to him, are better than those of other European governments.
