Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on April 13, 2026
2 min readLast updated: April 13, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleEU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urges coordinated action on gas storage, oil releases and emergency measures to ease a €22 billion surge in fossil fuel bills caused by the Iran conflict; full proposals expected April 22.
BRUSSELS, April 13 (Reuters) - The European Union's member states must coordinate on energy prices amid a 22 billion euro ($25.70 billion) increase in fossil fuel bills since the start of the Iran war, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday.
"We're also looking into ... coordination of member states' gas storage filling to avoid that many member states go to the market at the same time," von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels.
"And we will coordinate oil stock releases, to achieve the largest possible effect, and we will ensure that member states' emergency measures will not impact the single market."
The EU Commission is planning to publish proposals for energy price measures on April 22, to be discussed by EU leaders at their informal summit next week.
Separately the EU's executive arm will present an electrification strategy before the summer, von der Leyen said as she stressed the need for structural measures to lower energy prices as well.
"We are paying a very high price for our global dependency on fossil fuels, and the grim reality for our continent is fossil fuel energy will remain the most expensive option in the years to come," von der Leyen said.
"Our strategy to decarbonize has not only been confirmed in the last years, but is growing in importance day by day," she added.
($1 = 0.8559 euros)
(Reporting by Mathias de Rozario and Bart Meijer; Editing by Makini Brice)
The EU seeks to coordinate energy prices to manage a sharp increase in fossil fuel bills and prevent market disruptions amid the Iran conflict.
Measures include coordinating gas storage filling, oil stock releases, and proposals for energy price management to ensure stability.
The EU Commission plans to publish proposals for energy price measures on April 22.
The EU is focused on decarbonization to reduce dependency on expensive fossil fuels and promote electrification.
Fossil fuel bills for EU member states have risen by 22 billion euros since the start of the Iran conflict.
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