The Commission has set up a repository of the different emergency measures taken by national governments since the start of the Middle East conflict at the end of February to ease the impact on consumers. As foreseen under the AccelerateEU Communication, this overview is an exercise in transparency, which can help coordinate actions between neighbouring EU countries as well as facilitate the sharing and promotion of good practices.
The repository covers national response tools aimed at protecting households and business consumers, including industry. These include broader measures to reduce demand, accelerate the clean energy transition, and strengthen energy resilience; as well as more precise steps such as targeted income support schemes, energy vouchers and social leasing schemes, lowering taxes and excise duties on electricity for vulnerable households; and measures to promote the deployment of renewable energy sources and to accelerate the electrification of the economy.
This exercise complements the Catalogue of national practices, published last week, which highlights best practices taken by EU countries to reduce gas and oil consumption, cut costs, and deliver immediate savings for households, businesses and public authorities. It also follows the Commission publication of a temporary State aid framework to support sectors affected by the Middle East crisis (METSAF) – a targeted and temporary framework to address the effects of the crisis on some of the most exposed sectors of the economy: agriculture, fishery, transport and energy-intensive industries.
