A consumer protection inspector checks fuel prices at a gas station in Bruges, near Bordeaux, south-western France, on March 10, 2026. PHILIPPE LOPEZ / AFP
EU's energy chief Dan Jørgensen called on member states to lower taxes on energy where possible, as war in the Middle East saw oil and gas prices surge. "If you are at all able to lower taxes on energy, especially on electricity, there is a huge potential" to reduce consumer bills, Jørgensen, the European Union energy commissioner, told a press conference at the EU Parliament in Strasbourg, on Tuesday, March 10.
European businesses – and consumers – have long complained about high energy costs, which firms say put them at competitive disadvantage compared with Asian and North American rivals. Pressure to address the issue has been heightened by US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran's retaliatory attacks across the Gulf region, which have upended the world's energy and transport sectors.
Electricity taxes and levies account, on average, for 25% of households' bills and 15% of businesses' energy costs across the 27-nation bloc, according to Brussels. Reducing levies could save the average household about 200 euros a year, the European Commission said, as it unveiled a series of recommendations to bring down costs. Lowering taxation was an effective way to contain energy bills temporarily during the crises, it said.
