Brussels, February 5, 2025
[Edited for better readability]
Thank you!
Let me start by quoting Marx—not Karl Marx, but Groucho Marx. Groucho once said: “These are my principles. Unless you don’t like them, then I have others.”
That is not the case for the European Union, nor for the energy policy of the European Commission. Even when our friends change their opinions, even when our adversaries act in ways we would rather they did not, we stand by our principles.
I want to share another quote with you:
Mighty economic areas have arisen around us… If Europe fails to keep pace… The danger is not that we shall be relegated to a lesser place… but that we shall be completely eliminated.
These words were spoken by Professor Walter Hallstein, the first President of the Commission, back in 1958. It was a time of global tensions and division, when Europe struggled to compete with superpowers. Over 60 years later, these challenges have resurfaced.
We feel them in our homes. Due to the energy crisis, around 47 million Europeans could not adequately heat their homes last year. In a wealthy part of the world, 47 million people were freezing—this is unacceptable.
We feel them in our businesses and industries, where energy costs are often double or more than those paid by competitors in China and the US. This affordability crisis is hitting our citizens and communities hard.
It demands an urgent response, and that is exactly what I intend to deliver.
[Action Plan for Affordable Energy]
Before the end of this month, I will present an Action Plan for Affordable Energy, a key part of our Clean Industrial Deal. While I cannot reveal its full content today, I can assure you that I will explore every tool and avenue to reduce energy costs in the short term.
At the same time, we must make long-term structural decisions to ensure we are ready for the future. Some short-term measures under discussion include:
- Incentivizing instruments to decouple retail energy bills from high fossil fuel prices
- Addressing non-energy parts of energy bills
- Strengthening supervision and competition in gas markets to secure the best prices for consumers
However, in the long term, reinforcing our Energy Union is the most rational and cost-effective way to ensure affordable energy.
[Strengthening Our Energy Union]
Europe has strengths to build upon: a resilient energy infrastructure and the most integrated energy market in the world. Already, the integration of European electricity markets saves consumers around €34 billion annually, and further integration could increase these benefits to €40 billion per year by 2030.
The Action Plan will serve as our blueprint to deepen integration and advance our Energy Union. We will:
- Better connect our energy systems
- Upgrade our grids
- Expand the rollout of clean energy sources
- Accelerate electrification
This will require significant investment—a topic I am pleased to see on today’s agenda.
[Investment in Clean Energy]
Annual investment needs for the energy sector are projected to reach €574 billion this decade and €694 billion in the next. Just for grids, the annual investment requirement will be €91 billion.
To support this effort, we will introduce a Clean Energy Investment Strategy, ensuring that short-term strategic spending results in long-term savings for citizens, businesses, and our Union.
Let me be clear: there will be no backtracking on the green transition. Affordability, competitiveness, and decarbonization go hand-in-hand—not for ideological reasons, but for logical ones.
[The Case for Decarbonisation]
From 2021–2023, EU electricity consumers saved around €100 billion thanks to newly installed solar and wind capacity. Without renewables, we would have paid €100 billion more for electricity.
From a competitiveness standpoint, the EU has successfully combined energy decarbonization with economic growth. Since 1990, net greenhouse gas emissions have fallen 37%, while GDP has grown 68%.
Our internal renewable energy market is expanding. The share of renewables in electricity generation rose from 36% in 2021 to 46% in 2024, driven mainly by wind and solar. In the first half of 2024, wind and solar surpassed fossil fuels in power generation for the first time.
Globally, clean energy investment reached $2 trillion last year. For every dollar invested in fossil fuels, two dollars were invested in renewables. Decarbonization delivers.
Beyond clean energy, jobs, and growth, decarbonization also strengthens our strategic autonomy and security.
[Energy Security and Independence]
During the current energy crisis—the most severe in decades—our ability to generate clean energy has been vital.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, gas prices skyrocketed, straining households and businesses. But the REPowerEU Plan has yielded clear progress:
- Wind and solar capacity reached a record 78 GW in 2024
- Heat pump sales hit 3 million in 2022
- Coal imports from Russia have ended
- Crude oil imports from Russia have dropped from 26% to 3%
- Gas imports from Russia have fallen from 45% to 19%
Since spring 2023, gas prices have declined significantly, benefiting both gas and electricity consumers.
Yet, we must go further. We will publish a Roadmap to end all Russian energy imports and fully implement REPowerEU.
[A European Success Story: Baltic Synchronization]
One tangible success is the Baltic Synchronization project. As a result of this initiative, the Baltic states will, from this Sunday, regain independence from Russia’s electricity grid, fully integrating into the EU system.
This was achieved together as Europeans, with over €1.2 billion invested. It will ensure stable energy supplies and continued access to affordable energy—critical for Europe’s economic resilience and competitiveness.
[Conclusion: Confidence in Ourselves]
While we have made significant progress, we still face major challenges in competitiveness, climate, and security. These challenges will not disappear overnight.
But let me return to 1958 and another quote from President Hallstein:
If the great venture is to succeed, what we need is not only intelligence, imagination, and determination, but above all, confidence in ourselves.
These words are as relevant today as they were then.
Let’s have confidence in ourselves. Let’s remember how far we have come. We began as a European Coal and Steel Community—now we are a community of wind turbines, solar panels, and green hydrogen plants.
We were once divided by trenches and the Iron Curtain—now we are connected by power lines and interconnectors.
The challenges ahead are significant, but they are not new. We have overcome them before, and we will do so again—together.
Thank you!
Source – EU Commission