IEA chief: Europe has managed the energy crisis relatively well

Europe has managed relatively well the energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), told DPA. He also expressed hope that IEA member countries had learned from the crisis.

„Almost two years after the invasion began, I can say that Europe has come through this crisis with a few scrapes, but without any major destructive consequences,“ Birol said.

Although the crisis had negative economic effects, he said, it did not cause the economy to collapse.

„I very much hope that we have learned our lesson from this and that we will diversify energy imports and move to energy technologies that are domestic and do not harm climate goals,“ Birol said.

„There were many problems with European energy policy, but the most significant was excessive dependence on energy imports from a single country,“ he added.

The International Energy Agency is an intergovernmental organization established in 1974 within the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The oil crisis at the time contributed to its creation. The organization primarily serves as an adviser to its member countries on energy matters. Excluding associate countries, the agency has 31 members, including Czechia and Slovakia.

pmh jrm