As war in Iran roils energy markets, Europe pays price of ‘dependency’
Governments are racing to respond, as oil and gas prices raise fears of a further spike in living costs
The continent’s benchmark natural gas price, the Dutch TTF, climbed above €70 (US$80) per megawatt hour in Thursday morning trading – its highest level since December 2022, though still well below the more than €300 peak reached in the summer of 2022.
From Brussels to national capitals, including Paris, governments were scheduling crisis meetings on Thursday as politicians scrambled to respond.
“Prices went way beyond what we thought and I can give you my mea culpa … there is a real difficulty with diesel,” French Energy Minister Maud Bregeon told France’s BFMTV on Thursday.
“For 90 per cent of the diesel fuel we consume in France, the refining was done outside the European Union … we are paying the price for our dependency,” she said.
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US-Israel war on Iran is as reckless and catastrophic as it is stupid and illegal