Speeches

Madam President! Rising energy prices, and gas prices in particular, are hitting consumers across Europe. The Spaniard who bought an electric car and put it in the charger. The Romanian, who is to have his house warmed up. The Dane, who turns on the meat pot. We are in a situation that can be fatal, and in some cases this means that you have to choose between heating up your house or having hot dinner. This, of course, is completely untenable. We have a market, but it is not self-evident that everyone plays fair in the market. I believe that the European Commission must have a serious talk with Russia, because why do Russian gas imports fall when we need it most and when we are willing to pay for it? The EU must make greater demands, strengthen market rules and ensure that those who produce the gas do not use it politically. First of all, I believe that this crisis shows that we need a strong green transition. This crisis is not due to too much greening, it is due to too little. That is why it is absolutely crazy, I think, to listen to those colleagues who accuse the Green Deal of being to blame for this situation. On the contrary. We need to increase renewable energy, because it is cheaper, and we need to increase energy efficiency. Every time we increase energy efficiency by one percent, gas imports decrease by 2.6 percent. So let's take this as a sign that we need to make a strong agreement on the Fit for 55 package under the Green Deal.