The European Commission is urging member states to lower electricity taxes. Vice-President of the EU Commission, Teresa Ribera, told the weekly magazine “Die Zeit” that the goal is to increase electricity demand and reduce the need for natural gas and oil, with plans to present an electrification action plan before the summer.
Ribera emphasized that reducing taxes is a crucial step in this transition. She stated, “We want to ensure that electricity is taxed lower than gas-and that the subsidies for fossil fuels are phased out gradually”. Currently, EU states spend approximately 100 billion euros annually subsidizing fossil energy sources.
Furthermore, the EU Commission intends to introduce “legal guidelines for an electrification goal” Ribera announced. In Germany, for instance, the federal government has only lowered the electricity tax for businesses so far, rather than for private households as originally announced in the coalition agreement.
