We had an orientation debate, mostly on the economic impact of the crisis in the Middle East on the European Union. As we all know, for 44 days now, once again the Middle East has been engulfed in war. And these past six weeks have reminded us that peace cannot be taken for granted. In recent days, it seemed as if a pause emerging. A ceasefire has been announced, you all witnessed that. Allow me to say a word of gratitude to Pakistan for the important role they have played to get to this point. But we also know that negotiations have been stalled now, and we have to see how things go on now. Any agreement will have to address the concerns raised by Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program, and its actions obstructing the navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. The ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz is greatly damaging, and the restoration of the freedom of navigation is of paramount importance for us. We are also worried that the continued strikes on Lebanon threaten to derail the entire process. We are mobilising ReliefEU stocks to provide immediate aid to the Lebanese people, but no amount of aid can replace the safety of a permanent peace. A key lesson of the past weeks is that security is indivisible. You cannot have stability in the Middle East or the Gulf while Lebanon is in flames. So we call on all parties to respect the sovereignty of Lebanon and to implement a complete cessation of hostilities. And as we observe the current fragile ceasefire, and despite the uncertainty, I want us to draw together lessons. This is the main purpose why we had the orientation debate today. It was not the first one in this crisis but, of course, now with a new and fresh look on the situation. Let us recap, since the beginning of the conflict – 44 days ago –, our bill for fossil fuel imports has increased by over EUR 22 billion. 44 days, EUR 22 billion – not a single molecule of energy in addition. This shows the enormous impact this crisis has on our economy. And even if hostilities ceased immediately, the disruptions to energy supplies from the Gulf will persist for some time to come. Therefore, we also discussed a series of measures that we will present to leaders at the next informal EUCO in Cyprus next week. We will have a communication the Wednesday before the EUCO starts in Cyprus. And today, we discussed a number of measures that we could present. Let me mention some of them, starting with immediate measures.
First and foremost, it is important that we have a robust coordination among the Member States. Because, we have learned that in any crisis, unity is our strength. We have demonstrated this in the 2022 energy crisis with the EU Energy Platform. Let me just give you two figures: this platform helped aggregate 90 billion cubic metres of gas purchases for us in the European Union. It has connected buyers with suppliers – with 77 billion cubic metres matched – between off-takers and suppliers. So we do not start from scratch with this coordination in the energy sector, but we can do more and we can do better. We are also looking into EU-wide coordination of Member States' gas storage filling, to avoid that many Member States go to the market at the same time, so they are competing against each other. We will also coordinate oil stock releases, to achieve the largest possible effect of these releases. And we will ensure that Member States' emergency measures will not impact the Single Market. That is the 'coordination' part.
Let me look at the second element we discussed. This is, basically, how to approach the different measures that Member States might apply to better protect vulnerable households and sectors from high energy prices. It is very important as went through the last energy crisis three or four years ago. And we really learned the lesson from this energy crisis. The measures should be targeted to vulnerable groups, timely – they have to be fast, not in a year but immediately – and temporary – so for a short amount of time you can apply them, but if they are cast in law, you have to make sure that you get out of the measures in a timely manner. We will discuss with the Member States and show some typical best practices – how to design income support schemes. This all will be in the communication that we will present next week. And already this week, we will consult Member States on more flexible State aid rules – that is an important tool too –, to give Member States more space for temporary State aid support in the most exposed sectors. And my goal is that this temporary State aid framework should be adopted still this month. So that we have, in April, the new temporary framework for State aid. This is the part of 'support measures'.
And the third element is how can we reduce the demand., more can be done to reduce demand. Because the least expensive energy is of course the energy we do not use. We should reduce demand, while fully respecting the free choice of consumers. We are looking at energy efficiency levers, such as renovation of buildings or renewal of equipment in industrial operations. These and other measures will be at the core of the presentation of the communication we will present next week on the table of the leaders. So far for 'immediate measures'.
At the same time, we also need more structural measures, to bring down energy prices and give relief to citizens and businesses. We already had constructive discussions in the last European Council on the four cost components for the energy bill. The biggest chunk is of course the energy source itself. But then you have the grids charges, the taxes and levies. The smallest part is the ETS. We discussed that at the last European Council and partially delivering on what we have discussed and designing new elements. So on the ETS costs – which I repeat are the smallest amount in the energy bill: we have already proposed changes to the Market Stability Reserve. We are stopping the cancellation of allowances, and we are boosting the firepower of the Reserve. Thus, we are enhancing the stability and predictability of ETS prices without losing the important price signal. In addition, we will shortly consult Member States on updated ETS benchmarks using all the flexibilities the legal text gives us. And as announced, we are on track to present the full review of the ETS system in July.
There are two other cost components: electricity taxes and grids charges. Work is advancing on legislative proposals with which we will come. Today's discussion confirmed that we will present these legislative proposals in May. Finally, we discussed the biggest chunk of the energy bill: the energy source itself. Let me recall and widen the picture for a moment: The Strait of Hormuz is essentially closed, and immediately citizens feel the impact at the gas station, in the supermarket and on the household bills. What we are seeing in the Middle East is not some distant crisis. But in a world in which everything is connected, the effects are direct and immediate. This is the second fossil fuel crisis in just a few years. There is one thing that all these events are making clear: we are paying a very high price for our overdependency 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.
But on the other hand, Europe also has assets: That is electricity produced in Europe from renewables and nuclear. And therefore, our strategy to decarbonise has not only been confirmed in the last years but is growing in importance day by day. And our objective is clear: we need to scale up the homegrown, affordable, reliable energy. That is the wide range of renewables we have, but it is also the nuclear energy of course. Because they give us independence, predictability and energy security. The only lasting way out of the fossil dependency is to modernise by shifting electricity generation to renewables and nuclear, and by electrifying the economy as rapidly as possible.
We have made progress in growing renewables and nuclear in Europe – they both now account for over 70% of our electricity generation. But of course, we need to go much further. And these clean energy sources need better integration in the energy system. At the moment, huge volumes of clean power remain unused or even wasted. So what we need is storage and flexibility, and accelerate grid connections. To improve the overall situation, we have presented the Grids package in December. The initial goal was to have it agreed with the co-legislators at the end of this year. I think this is too much time. The sense of urgency is too high. summer. So, I would really like to urge the co-legislator so that we have this important package approved by the end of the summer.
We also need to accelerate the electrification of our economy; of our industrial operations, of how we heat our homes, of our mobility. In other words: electrifying Europe means making Europe more independent. But at the moment, we are lagging with the electrification – behind both China and the United States. So we will present our electrification strategy before the summer as well. This will include an ambitious new target on electrification. Only what gets measured gets done. To achieve this, we have to remove any remaining regulatory obstacles and to mobilise investments.
And this is my last point: investment. Regarding public money, I will again encourage the Member States to make better use of the EU funding we have, for example the Cohesion Funds. The money is there, you can invest it – in grids, in storage, in batteries. Please use that money now, because we need to improve our energy system. But public money is not enough – so we also need much more private capital. We will therefore convene an Investment Conference to mobilise private investments in these areas.
So, as you can see, there is a lot of work going on, to confront the reality and the challenges we face. This was an excellent orientation debate. It will certainly not be last one concerning this crisis. But it is a good ramp to build up for next week's communication in preparation of the European Council in Cyprus.
