EU chief warns billions could be wasted if energy aid is not well
targeted as the Iran war bites
[April 29, 2026] By
LORNE COOK
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union countries must funnel their energy aid
chiefly to vulnerable households and industries or risk wasting billions
of euros as the Iran war hits oil and gas prices, European Commission
President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Wednesday.
The U.S.-Israel war, combined with retaliation from Iran such as choking
the Strait of Hormuz, is costing the EU almost 500 million euros ($600
million) a day, raising prices at the pumps and fears of a jet fuel
shortage within weeks.
Von der Leyen said the world’s biggest trading bloc must draw on the
lessons of the 2022 fuel crisis – when Russia used its energy might
against European countries to undermine their support for Ukraine – to
avoid further hurting their economies.
More than 350 billion euros “were spent on untargeted measures and this
had a huge impact on member states finances,” she told EU lawmakers in
Strasbourg, France. “So let us not make the same mistake again, and
let’s focus our support where it matters most.”
Just as Europe broke its energy dependency on Russia, the bloc must now
end its reliance on supplies from the outside world, by making better
use of renewable sources like wind and solar, as well as nuclear power,
von der Leyen said.
“Our over dependency on imported fossil fuels makes us vulnerable,” she
said.
Since the war started in 2022, Russian gas imports into the 27 nations
have fallen from 45% to 12% last year. Coal imports were banned by
sanctions, and oil imports shrank from 27% 2022 to 2%, with only Hungary
and Slovakia continuing to buy from Russia.
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a
press conference after the EU Summit in Nicosia, Cyprus, Friday,
April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
 Von der Leyen said the impact of the
Iran war “may echo for months or even years to come” and that the
path to energy independence lies in “homegrown, affordable, clean
energy supply from renewables to nuclear.”
She urged EU countries to use more electricity generated by
renewable sources and nuclear sources to power transport and planes,
heat homes, and undercut the dependency on fossil fuels in industry.
Electricity makes up less than a quarter of the bloc’s energy
consumption.
EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen warned last week that the Iran
war has not just produced “a short-term, small increase in prices.
This is a crisis that is probably as serious as the 1973 and the
2022 crises combined.”
He said Europe has been forced onto the defensive and has little
control over events.
“Even in a best-case scenario, it’s still bad,” Jørgensen said.
“Whether or not we will be in a security of supply crisis is
primarily a result of what goes on in the Middle East. What we can
do is to try and prevent, and limit” the damage.
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