“This year has radically transformed our energy landscape and has made it clearer than ever that we need to act together. Ensuring security of supply and reducing prices for citizens and businesses remain our priority. Against this backdrop, we will review progress since October and give further guidance”. This is what Charles Michel, President of the European Council, writes to the 27 Heads of State and Government who will meet in Brussels for the summit in the coming days. “We will also look ahead to next year’s challenges in order to be fully prepared. One of the most important milestones of 2023 will be the electricity market reform to be proposed by the Commission as soon as possible. Our coordination efforts, however, need to be coupled with concrete projects and a committed investment in innovation, infrastructure and energy efficiency to phase out our dependency on Russian fossil fuels”.
Energy problems affect the economy, Michel then points out. “Our future growth perspectives depend not only on how well we manage the energy shock in the short term, but also on our industries’ ability to remain competitive, and our capacity to innovate and invest in the technologies of tomorrow. We will therefore focus on how we can better manage our coordinated policy response, including with the support of common European solutions”.