Ahead of the meeting of the European Council meeting of 20-21 October 2022, President of Renew Europe, Stéphane Séjourné, has called on EU Member States to conclude an agreement on an ambitious European energy shield to ensure energy bills go down for consumers and businesses.
Renew Europe has led the response to the energy crisis, triggered by Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. We call for short-term measures; windfall taxes on supernormal profits, gas price caps and a new SURE programme until the end of winter 2024. These must be accompanied by longer-term reforms; joint energy purchases and the decoupling electricity prices from gas prices, amongst other measures. Investment must be European: we have proposed a European sovereignty fund to enable us to gain all our independence on food, industry, energy.
Stéphane Séjourné, President of Renew Europe, said:
"European solidarity and unity must underpin this summit. There can be no repeat of the hesitation and bickering of the 2010s in the face of the sovereign debt crisis and the migration crisis. What was possible with the super-profits tax must be possible with the rest of the proposals to tackle the energy crisis. Joint energy purchases, as we have seen with vaccines, and true European investment, are the way forward."
"This Parliament has, as usual, been clear on the points that could be the subject of a European consensus. There is a majority for a European tariff shield as Renew Europe has been proposing for months. If there is a majority in this House, it means that there is a way forward in the Council."