The EU sees a faster shift to clean energy as the solution to rising energy prices

Brussels, 17 April (ČTK correspondent) - European Union member states are preparing to call for the faster rollout of clean energy to mitigate shocks in the fossil fuel market caused by the crisis around Iran and rising oil and gas prices. This is according to a draft agreement seen by the Brussels-based Politico website. EU foreign ministers are expected to approve the agreement next Tuesday at a meeting in Luxembourg. The Czech Republic will be represented at the meeting by Minister Petr Macinka. The agreement must be approved unanimously. According to ČTK, all 27 member states have reached preliminary agreement on the text. Macinka, chairman of the Motorists for Themselves party, is a prominent critic of the current form of Europe’s green transition.

The document is expected to outline an updated direction for the European Union’s joint energy and climate diplomacy. Against the backdrop of a sharp rise in fossil fuel prices as a result of the conflict in Iran and the Middle East, the draft highlights concerns about the autonomy and security of the current 27-member bloc. According to EU countries, the main solution should be to accelerate the transition to clean energy instead of burning coal, oil and gas.

Developments in Iran and the wider region “threaten regional and global security and prosperity”, the text says. It was approved earlier this week by representatives of the member states in the European Union’s Political and Security Committee (PSC) and is now awaiting approval by EU ministers.

“Aware of the EU’s geopolitical and economic vulnerability resulting from its significant dependence on fossil fuel imports, the Council of the EU reaffirms that the energy transition based on clean, affordable and domestic energy sources remains the most effective strategy for achieving Europe’s strategic autonomy,” the document adds.

According to EU countries, accelerating the deployment and integration of renewable and low-carbon energy sources would bring prices down. The transition to clean energy is also “a source of strengthened energy and economic sovereignty”, the EU bloc says.