BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – APRIL 22: EU Commissioner for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition Teresa Ribera Rodriguez (L) and the EU Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jorgensen (R) talk to media in the Berlaymont, the EU Commission headquarter on April 22, 2026 in Brussels, Belgium. The European Commission’s “AccelerateEU” plan aims to shield households and industries from soaring fossil fuel costs caused by Middle East tensions while accelerating the transition to homegrown clean energy for long-term security. The strategy combines immediate relief measures, such as coordinated gas storage and temporary state aid, with structural actions like an Electrification Action Plan and a new Fuel Observatory to reduce dependency on volatile import markets. (Photo by Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Last month, the European Commission announced a plan that would seek to “stave off the worst of the ongoing energy crisis” due to the war in Iran and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Known as AccelerateEU, the European Commission’s press release stated that this program would aim to “bring immediate relief to European households and industries” that have been impacted by rising energy prices and fuel shortages while also “putting Europe on a steady pathway to energy independence.” The European Commission added in its press release that the current global energy crisis serves as a reminder that Europe should accelerate its “transition to clean, secure, and affordable energy” as it is an “economic and security imperative.”
The European continent “must accelerate the shift to homegrown, clean energies,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in the AccelerateEU press release. “This will give us energy independence and security, and mean [Europe is] better able to weather geopolitical storms.”
“Europe faces yet another fossil energy crisis,” European Union Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen was quoted as saying in the press release. “With AccelerateEU, we support our Member States in providing immediate relief to those struggling the most in our society, while doubling down on the clean transition and electrification. This is the only lasting way to guarantee stable, secure, clean, and affordable energy supplies to all Europeans.”
For several weeks, the European Commission and the EU have warned citizens in member countries that energy markets in Europe will face “prolonged supply shock[s] that would force cuts to fuel consumption” due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Since the start of the war in Iran on February 28, the European continent has faced soaring oil and gas prices. Various European companies have warned of fuel shortages, and some European airlines have even cut thousands of flights. As a result, the European Commission and the EU are determining how to address the current energy crisis.
It is not the first time Europe has faced an energy emergency this decade. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the EU announced that it would stop purchasing Russian oil and gas as a way to punish Russia for invading Ukraine, understanding that energy sales from Europe would help stimulate the Russian economy. This led to a rise in energy costs in Europe after the EU cut off one of its major energy suppliers. As a result, the EU opted to diversify its energy market, purchasing oil, gas, and liquefied natural gas from countries such as Norway, the United States, and Algeria, while also investing in wind and solar energy and other alternative energy sources. These actions helped mitigate the energy crisis in Europe. Then, in December 2025, the EU announced plans to phase out Russian LNG purchases by the end of 2026, in an attempt to further reduce European dependence on Russian gas.
But the war in Iran has caused a new energy crisis in Europe. In its April press release, the European Commission stated that the EU has “spent an additional €24 billion on energy imports due to higher prices” caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The Commission noted, however, that the EU has not received “a single extra molecule of energy” despite the increase in energy purchases.
“The war in Iran demonstrates that Europe remains exposed to global fossil fuel volatility even when the disruption occurs outside Europe,” Alessia Virone, the EU Affairs Director at the Clean Air Task Force, told me in an interview. “Oil and LNG are globally traded commodities, meaning geopolitical instability rapidly transmits into European electricity, heating, transport, and industrial prices. Overreliance on a single import partner, fuel, or technology creates systemic vulnerabilities during geopolitical crises, and Europe needs to move away from that.”
As a result, elected officials from EU member states have questioned the organization’s energy policy and called for new measures. For example, in March, then-Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán argued that the EU should ease energy restrictions and sanctions on the Russian Federation, believing that this would help mitigate the current energy crisis in Europe. Similarly, in April, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico called on the EU to end sanctions on Russian energy to help address the current European energy crisis.
“Countries in Central and Eastern Europe have a tight fiscal space and display long-term overreliance on fossil fuel imports, making them more exposed to the volatility of global energy markets. In some of these countries, energy import dependency has been increasing [over the past two decades],” Tamara Lagurashvili, the Director of Central and Eastern Europe at the Clean Air Task Force, told me in an interview. “The time of distress caused by increased energy prices is challenging, but it can also be seen as an opportunity to rethink our energy systems and increase resilience.”
Despite the statements made by Orbán and Fico, the EU has opted to maintain its energy sanctions against Russia. In addition, political developments in Europe last month further cemented the EU’s stance. On April 12, Hungary held its parliamentary elections. The results saw Péter Magyar replace Orbán as prime minister. Magyar has said he will look to strengthen relations between Hungary and the EU while also seeking to end Russian influence in Hungary. As a result, Fico’s position has become more isolated within the EU given Orbán’s departure. These developments suggest that the EU will not alter its stance on the Russian energy market. In fact, the European organization announced new sanctions on the Russian Federation on April 23.
“I expect that EU officials will quickly seize on this new political environment to advance new sanctions on Russian energy resources, including expanded action against Russia’s shadow fleet [of oil tankers],” Dr. Benjamin L. Schmitt, Senior Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Kleinman Center for Energy Policy and Perry World House, told me in an interview. Schmitt added that the ongoing crisis in the Strait of Hormuz means the EU must pair its actions against Russia with efforts to secure alternative energy supplies.
“The European Union should not only continue its proven track record of assertive diplomatic action worldwide to find and secure deals for alternative oil and gas resources to supplement lost import volumes owing to Iran’s continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz, but they may also need to finally flex their military muscles to help open and maintain freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz itself,” Schmitt told me. “As much as Europe may claim the Iran war is ‘not their war,’ the impacts of that war need to be mitigated for Europe’s own stability, meaning military operations — as anathema as that might sound in some European political circles — is likely going to be necessary to supplement actions by the United States and Gulf countries to keep the strait open.”
Now that the European Commission is preparing to implement energy changes as it pursues the AccelerateEU program, European policymakers, environmentalists, and companies will be anxious to see if this plan will effectively address the current European energy crisis. It will take time for Europeans to further transition to alternative energy, as they will need to develop the technology and infrastructure to produce and maintain these energy sources. For Europeans affected by rising energy prices due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, AccelerateEU may be a welcome option to offset future energy costs, but it may be seen as a long-term solution that will not address the energy crisis.