Strasbourg, 6 October 2026
Addressing the European Parliament ahead of the October European Council, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen linked Europe’s renewed energy shock to the debate on the next long-term EU budget. She urged targeted relief, faster electrification and grid investment, while warning that major MFF cuts would undermine defence, competitiveness, AI, energy, enlargement and crisis-response priorities.
10 takeaways
- Energy costs are again driving the political agenda. Von der Leyen said gas prices had risen by 140% since the end of February and diesel prices had doubled, adding an estimated €100 billion to Europe’s fossil-fuel import bill without increasing energy volumes.
- The Commission favours targeted support over blanket subsidies. She argued that broad handouts would increase demand, benefit higher-income households and impose excessive fiscal costs, pointing instead to targeted energy-voucher schemes such as those in France and Romania.
- The EU plans further short-term market intervention. Von der Leyen cited the G7 release of 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil, a one-year extension of flexibility for exporters under methane rules, a strategic dialogue with European refineries and a new taskforce to aggregate energy demand.
- Joint energy purchasing is set to become more ambitious. Building on the model used after Russia cut gas supplies, the Commission wants to move beyond matchmaking and have a market operator conduct joint procurement on behalf of participating buyers.
- Reducing fossil-fuel dependence remains the structural objective. Von der Leyen argued that Europe remains vulnerable as long as prosperity depends on imported oil and gas, and called for a shift towards domestically produced clean electricity.
- Grid constraints are now a major bottleneck. More than 80 GW of renewable capacity was installed last year, she said, but six times that amount is still waiting for connection. She urged agreement on the EU grids package by the end of 2026.
- Electrification is central to the Commission’s energy strategy. Electricity currently represents less than a quarter of final energy consumption. The Electrification Action Plan aims to double that share by 2040, which von der Leyen said could cut fossil-fuel imports by €260 billion annually.
- The next MFF is being framed as an investment instrument for strategic autonomy. Von der Leyen listed defence, security, competitiveness, AI, energy infrastructure, raw materials, research, skills, enlargement and international partnerships among the areas requiring higher EU-level investment.
- The Commission wants to protect agriculture and cohesion while expanding newer priorities. She said the proposed MFF preserves the current level of financial support for agriculture and cohesion while significantly increasing funding for areas that are currently underfinanced, including energy infrastructure, military mobility and crisis instruments.
- Von der Leyen warned against large budget cuts and pushed for new own resources. With the proposed MFF amounting to 1.26% of EU GNI, she said deep cuts would threaten priorities already agreed by EU institutions and Member States. Preserving the Commission’s level of ambition, she argued, requires progress on the revenue side through new EU own resources.
E-summary by ChatGPT, prompted by Insight EU, based on the speech below.
Speech by President von der Leyen at the European Parliament plenary debate in preparation of the European Council meeting of 15-16 October 2026
Madam President, dear Roberta,
Minister Byrne,
Honourable Members,
Let me start directly with a topic affecting us all – the high energy costs. Families and industries are paying the cost of a crisis far beyond our borders. Since the end of February, gas prices have risen by 140%. Diesel prices have doubled. Altogether, imported fossil fuel have cost Europe €100 billion extra – without a single molecule of additional energy. We are all feeling these higher costs. Businesses are under high pressure. People struggle to pay their bills. And this could intensify as we head into winter. So, we need to act now. To protect those most in need. And to make sure we come out of this crisis stronger than we entered it. That we address the structural problems that are underlying this crisis.
Honourable Members,
We have gone through that before. Four years ago, Russia tried to blackmail us. At that time, 45% of our gas imports came from Russia. Almost overnight, almost all of it was cut off. But Europe stood together and we came out stronger. We diversified our supplies. And we massively accelerated investments in homegrown clean energy. Today, our import of Russian gas has fallen from 45% to 12%. And we will reduce that to zero by the end of next year. In addition, more than 70% of our electricity today comes from homegrown and clean sources – renewables and nuclear. Because of these decisions we took in 2022, today we are less vulnerable and in a better position. Therefore, the decisions we take today must follow the same logic. In the short term we need to support Member States to respond to the immediate pressure. But for the mid- and long-term, we need to continue to address the structural issues that leave us exposed to volatile foreign fossil fuel markets. So, we need to invest in our resilience.
Let me start with the short-term response. We know that energy challenges are not the same across European Union, because every Member State has a different energy mix. Let me give you some figures: In one Member State, the megawatt-hour of electricity costs around €145. Here, the price is set mostly by gas. In another Member State, the same megawatt-hour of electricity costs only €70.
Here, nuclear and renewables are setting the price. So, there is no silver bullet for the whole of the European Union. Different Member States have different energy mixes. And they face different pressures. Our role is to give Member States the tools and flexibility to respond. This is why in April, right at the beginning of the closure of Hormuz, we presented AccelerateEU. We introduced a temporary state aid framework for the industrial sectors most exposed, which we will prolong. And we set out options to help the households most in need. What is very important here is that the support has to be targeted: there should be no blanket handouts, because that would increase demand, favour higher incomes, and entail enormous costs. So we need tailor-made support. We see good examples of this. In France and Romania, energy voucher schemes provide support to low-income families. This is the right approach. Targeted, effective support for those who truly need it.
So far, for the demand side.
At the same time, we are working with our partners on the supply side. Last week, G7 members agreed to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil. This will help stabilise global prices. We will give flexibility to exporters for one more year on methane. This saves additional costs at a moment of crisis. We will launch a strategic dialogue on European refineries. The aim is to bring down costs and to ensure we have the supplies needed – also for defence. Therefore, this strategic dialogue will be chaired by Commissioners Jørgensen and Kubilius. And we will launch a new taskforce to bundle energy demand – as I said, there is a different energy mix in every Member State. Therefore, we have a quite fragmented demand side. We have done this before. When Russia tried to blackmail us, we brought European buyers together. We pooled demand. We helped secure the supplies Europe needed. So it is a model that works. But we have to bring it to the next level. We want to move from simple matchmaking to aggregating demand and task a market operator to do the joint procurement for all of us. So much for the short term. As I have said, what is most important are the investments in the mid and long term.
Honourable Members,
It is one thing to respond to the immediate threat. But as long as Europe depends on oil and gas, our prosperity remains exposed to events beyond our control. When we import fossil fuels, we import the shocks and crisis that come with them. So, we must transform the way we consume energy. We need to make strategic choices today to secure our energy independence tomorrow. That means replacing fossil fuels with clean electricity made here in Europe.
On production, we have already made real progress. Last year, for the first time, wind and solar produced more electricity than all fossil fuels combined. But we need the infrastructure to get it to where it is needed. Let me give you one figure – last year, we installed more than 80 gigawatts of renewable capacity. That is good. But six times more is still waiting to be connected. So, it is wasted. That is why we need our grids package so urgently. It is in your hands now to have it agreed until the end of the year. And I know Europe can count on you.
Honourable Members,
Producing clean energy and getting it where it is needed is only half the job. We also need to use more of it. Today, electricity accounts for less than a quarter of our final energy consumption. Therefore, our Electrification Action Plan sets clear targets to double that by 2040. Just imagine – that could help cut our fossil fuel imports by €260 billion every year. Therefore, in the coming months, we will come forward with the measures to deliver on this. Because every electron of clean energy we produce and use here in the Europe Union is energy we do not need to import from volatile global markets.
Honourable Members,
The energy challenge we are facing is another reminder that our next long-term budget needs to rise to the many challenges Europe is facing. We need to step up our investments in defence and security, in competitiveness, in AI, in energy infrastructures, in raw materials, in research and innovation, in skills, in enlargement, in international partnerships – I could go on. The priorities for the next MFF, including the need to safeguard food security and cohesion, are not challenged. We have all agreed on them. The question is one of ambition. We have proposed an MFF that preserves the current level of funding for financial support to agriculture and cohesion. At the same time, our proposal significantly boosts the financing for priorities that are currently underfunded in our budget. Some of these areas will be covered by the future competitiveness fund. But also beyond, for example, for energy infrastructure and military mobility. Our proposal also addresses the new reality we live in and increases the funding for crises. This is the case for the agricultural reserve, for example – now completely depleted. Or for natural disasters – also completely depleted. Or for additional funding to tackle illegal migration. This summer reminded us how critical such instruments and funding are.
Finally, we have proposed to boost financing in areas where spending at the European level is delivering more and better results than spending nationally. Think of large-scale projects such as space – it is self-explanatory. And it is also needed for projects that simply would not be possible without European funding: for example, energy interconnection or other cross-border projects.
Honourable Members,
We sometimes hear that this is not possible. Allow me to recall that we are talking about a budget of 1.26% of the European Union’s GNI. I am aware that balancing all the constraints is not easy. I am also aware of the difficult budgetary situation in Member States. But I would like to caution against large cuts. It would risk cutting deep into critical priorities that we all together have agreed on. This is why we have proposed a significant package of new own resources. And I know that this house will support me in this. I believe that the priorities we proposed in the MFF are the right ones. If we want to preserve our priorities and the level of ambition we have for Europe, we have to do the hard work on the revenue side.
Thank you.
Long live Europe.
Source – EU Commission