Europeans have paid an extra €100 billion for imported fossil fuels since the start of the conflict with Iran. The European Commission proposes to aggregate the demand of the Twenty-Seven for joint negotiations.
Europeans have paid €100 billion more for imported fossil fuels since the start of the conflict with Iran, according to figures from Ursula von der Leyen. The president of the European Commission suggested in the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg that the Twenty-Seven aggregate all their demand and purchase energy as if they were a single country. According to ecosistemastartup.com, the proposal will be debated before the leaders' summit on October 15 and 16.
The plan creates a working group that would centralise joint procurement. It is not limited to gas: it also includes oil, green hydrogen, and critical minerals for batteries. Until now, the EU had only connected gas buyers and sellers during the energy crisis of 2022.
Von der Leyen described the cost to the productive fabric with these words:
“Families and industries are paying the cost of a crisis that occurs far beyond our borders.”
The figures cited by the president explain the urgency. Gas prices have risen by 140% since the end of February, and diesel prices have doubled. The previous week, the G7 agreed to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil, and Von der Leyen proposed granting exporters an additional year of flexibility regarding methane.
Gas reserves are also not helpful. According to ENTSOG, in its report Winter Supply Outlook 2026/27, European storage facilities are entering the winter season with an average filling of 72%, about 811 TWh, compared to 83% the previous year. Its director general, Piotr Kuś, warned of regional disparities, especially in landlocked countries in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe.
For Von der Leyen, joint purchases are a stopgap, and the underlying solution is electrification. Electricity accounts for less than a quarter of final energy consumption, and the Commission wants to raise that share from 23% to 46% by 2040, which could save up to €260 billion annually on fossil fuel purchases from third parties. For companies that use gas as an input, joint purchasing does not eliminate exposure to volatility, and the plan still does not detail who will be part of the working group or what functions it will have.
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