EU Energy Bill Soars Past €100 Billion as Iran War Strains Supply

European Union countries have spent more than 100 billion euros ($113.5 billion) extra on energy imports since the outbreak of the Iran war, according to EU energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen. Speaking at a gathering of energy ministers from the 27-nation bloc in Dublin, Jørgensen described the situation as serious, noting that despite the additional spending, member states had not received "one extra molecule of gas or oil."

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz — a waterway that in peacetime carried a fifth of the world's traded oil — has driven up pump prices sharply. Consumers in some European countries now pay nearly 50% more, equivalent to more than $11 a gallon.

Ministers discussed plans to accelerate the shift from fossil fuels to electricity and to expand electrical infrastructure across the bloc. The EU became heavily reliant on the United States for direct energy imports after ending its historic dependence on Russia following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, warned that Europe is among the most exposed regions when it comes to diesel, with about half of its supply coming directly from the U.S. He noted that the continent is entering the harsh winter season.

Republicans in key U.S. states have called for a ban on diesel exports to bolster domestic supply ahead of crucial midterm elections, casting doubt on President Donald Trump's 2025 deal to sell $750 billion worth of energy to the EU. Ireland's minister for climate, energy and the environment, Darragh O'Brien, said such a ban is "unlikely" because it would harm economies on both sides of the Atlantic, but added that the EU must prepare for the worst. "We have to be guarded. We can't be complacent," he said.

Jørgensen said he had sent "a very clear signal" to U.S. authorities to scrap the ban while urging EU ministers to reduce the bloc's dependence on external energy sources whose supply can be disrupted by war and politics. "This, of course, shows us just how bad it is for us to be dependent, just how unsustainable it is for us to be dependent on energy sources from other places in the world," he said. "We need to get out of that dependency. We need to replace the fossil fuels, the imported, polluting, expensive molecules with homegrown energy: green electrons."

Sari Multala, Finland's environment minister, pointed to her country as an example of energy independence. Nuclear reactors, turbines, peat bogs, and hydropower dams provide 95% of Finland's electricity, she said, which "creates very reasonable prices for electricity." She added that rising concern about energy prices as winter approaches "creates a lot of pressure for us politicians to try to help our citizens to cope with the situation."