Energy crisis: local and regional leaders urge action to boost long-term resilience

The geopolitical tensions in Middle East and Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine have exposed Europe's structural dependence on imported fossil fuel energy and external suppliers, driving renewed energy price volatility with serious economic impact for both consumers and businesses. The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) has welcomed the European Commission's emergency measures presented in the AccelerateEU communication, while calling for more decisive action to tackle energy poverty and boost energy resilience in the long term.

The declaration adopted on 5 May by the CoR Bureau - representing members from all 27 national delegations and six political groups - underlines that decarbonising and electrifying the EU economy is a strategic choice for the security and resilience of the Union and for its sustainable long-term competitiveness, not just for climate reasons. The EU's efforts to strengthen its energy resilience and accelerate the clean transition must go hand in hand with strategic autonomy, security of supply and solidarity, including continued support for Ukraine.

The CoR considers it essential to address short-term price pressures while accelerating work towards the completion of a stronger, sustainable and independent Energy Union. It calls for a speedier roll-out of interconnections between EU Member States and the integration of renewables, and for enhanced coordination of storage capacities in order to create a well-interconnected and more resilient energy network.

However, the CoR regrets that the role of local and regional authorities is neglected in the communication. It expresses concern over rising energy poverty and emphasises the need for targeted support to vulnerable households. It also suggests developing EU-wide social leasing schemes for key energy-efficient and clean technologies, such as appliances, heat pumps, rooftop photovoltaics and electric vehicles.