Germany can and should lead the way on EU energy solidarity

A common intervention to offset the cost of high energy prices is the only way to tackle the crisis and stay out of Putin’s trap. The fallout of the energy package announcement reflected not only the tension between Germany’s internal political dynamics and the responsibility it carries as the “de facto” EU leader, but also an ideological North-South divide on how to tackle economic crises. In an op-ed criticising the German energy package, EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni and Competition Commissioner Thierry Breton stressed the importance of creating a European plan to tackle the energy crisis and avoid a race for state subsidies, which would fragment and compromise the single market. In their view, to help member states cope with rising energy prices, the EU should adopt a new SURE Plan, a financial instrument applied during the pandemic to support national interventions against unemployment. Meanwhile, Elisa Ferreira, the EU commissioner for cohesion and reforms has also announced plans to allow member states to redirect up to 40 billion euros under the 2014-20 Cohesion Policy to help households, small and medium companies and even larger industries that struggle with high energy prices.