Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker called on European Union leaders to urgently focus on lowering energy prices, which are "suffocating" European industry, in an interview with POLITICO ahead of an informal summit in Belgium.
“The most urgent task is to reduce energy prices,” said Stocker. “No other factor is hurting European industry so much and no other issue affects so many simulative member states.”
His message comes ahead of an EU summit on Thursday, where leaders will try to agree on a common agenda to boost economic growth and make the bloc more independent.
The chancellor's call reflects the positions of other leaders, including Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who have urged the EU to scrap some environmental rules that they blame for high energy prices.
“The approach we took with the Green Deal was not sustainable: in Austria, for example, the reduction in CO2 emissions is mainly a consequence of a decline in production,” said Stocker, adding: “Becoming greener cannot be our goal; that means becoming poorer.”
The EU has already begun to roll back parts of environmental regulations as part of a deregulation campaign supported by most member states. In joint documents, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have called for the process to be accelerated and an “emergency brake” on new EU legislation, writes Politico.
“Fortunately, the trend reversal has already begun,” Stocker said. “As a next step, I will advocate for an extension of free emissions allowances for our industry. This will ensure that domestic industry remains competitive and that our companies are not displaced.”
