The European Commission presented its new “AccelerateEU” strategy, outlining a series of proposed actions aimed at addressing the rapid increase in energy costs and reducing the EU’s reliance on imported fossil fuels.
Among the key long-term measures included in the new plan is a commitment by the Commission to present an Electrification Action Plan, including “an ambitious electrification target,” alongside initiatives to remove barriers to the electrification of the industrial, transport and building sectors.
According to the Commission, the new plan is aimed at providing a toolbox to provide immediate relief to European households and industries from the disruption to energy supplies and increasing costs resulting from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, and to accelerate the transition to domestically produced clean energy sources in order to reduce reliance over the long-term on imported fossil fuels. The Commission noted that the EU has spent an additional €24 billion on energy imports.
Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition said:
“Once again, citizens and businesses are paying the price of our dependency. This communication aims at reinforcing EU coordination and protect the most vulnerable while accelerating deployment of homegrown clean energy and electrification to make a real and lasting difference.”
Near-term measures outlined by the Commission include temporary initiatives to protect consumers and industry from price peaks, such as targeted income support schemes, energy vouchers and social leasing schemes, lowering excise duties on electricity for vulnerable households, as well as measures to ensure coordination among member states in areas such as gas storage filling, oil stock releases, adoption of national emergency measures and ensuring the availability of jet fuel and diesel.
Longer term structural measures include the upcoming electrification action plan and target, as well as steps to support electrification through investments in the grid, including advancing the European Grids Package, proposed by the Commission in December 2025 to enable more effective cross-border and cross-sectoral energy infrastructure planning.
The Commission also said that it will pursue measures to help mobilize private investment in the energy transition, including plans to organize a “Clean Energy Investment Summit” bringing together the financial services industry, including major institutional investors, industrial leaders, project developers and public financiers to accelerate private financing for solutions such as batteries, charging infrastructure and electrification.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said:
“We must accelerate the shift to homegrown, clean energies. This will give us energy independence and security, and mean we are better able to weather geopolitical storms.”
