Europe's Energy Crisis: Governments Implement Measures to Mitigate Record Fuel Prices

Europe's economies are struggling to cope with record gasoline and diesel prices, which have been driven up by wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. To mitigate the impact, governments across Europe are implementing various measures, including subsidies, taxes, and policy revisions.

Seven of the 10 nations working most actively to contain the economic damage are in the European Union, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The EU imports nearly all of its oil and 85% of its natural gas, with much of its domestically produced energy coming from renewable and nuclear sources.

Lithuania has cut train ticket prices in half, while Greece is taxing gambling more to fund public relief efforts. Italy delayed the scheduled demolition of coal-fired power plants and slashed the required paperwork for oil and natural gas projects.

France has adopted an expanding array of targeted measures to cushion consumers and fuel-intensive businesses from higher prices. The French government announced a 450 million-euro package to expand its relief measures, which include means-tested aid for people who drive more than 30 kilometers round trip to work or more than 8,000 kilometers annually for professional purposes.

The EU has tapped its strategic reserves as part of an agreement by the International Energy Agency's 32 member countries to make 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency stockpiles available to the market. The US has become one of the EU's most important energy suppliers, with a deal struck last year committing the EU to buy $750 billion worth of American energy over three years.