I hoped and expected that Europe would have acted more on the crisis, Birol said in an interview with the Financial Times, referring to how Europe has played its cards since the start of the energy crisis following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
This week, the European Commission will present its plans for how the Union will accelerate the transition from coal, oil and gas to electricity. Birol notes that electricity accounts for 23 percent of total energy consumption in the EU. That is low and comparable to the US. But the US is essentially self-sufficient in fossil fuels - Europe imports most of them.
Gas and electricity prices are a heavy burden for businesses and consumers in Europe. According to a draft of the European Commission's upcoming proposal, which the FT has seen, businesses pay more than twice as much for electricity as for gas in all but two EU countries: Sweden and Finland.
The Commission wants EU countries to lower taxes on electricity so that it is not taxed more heavily than fossil fuels.
