Greens/EFA welcome windfall tax & call for an embargo on Russian fossil fuels
Energy crisis
The Greens/EFA Group welcomes today's EU Energy Ministers agreement on a windfall tax for excess profits from energy companies. The Greens/EFA Group call for a fair distribution of revenues from the windfall tax, an embargo on fossil fuels and uranium imports from Russia, a common EU-wide energy purchasing platform, support for households and small and medium-sized enterprises to pay energy bills, and massive investments in renewable energies, energy savings and energy efficiency.
Marie Toussaint MEP, Greens/EFA negotiator on the EU’s response to rising energy prices, comments:
“The EU must continue to stand firm in the face of Putin's terrible war on Ukraine. We reiterate our call for an embargo on any gas and nuclear cooperation with Russia. In the face of soaring energy prices, European solidarity must be guaranteed and given priority in the fight against precarity. It is only by reducing our consumption that we will be able to keep prices low. This is true now, as it is for the future when it comes to climate change.
“The right to energy also means a ban on disconnections from energy supplies and a ban on evictions from homes. The windfall profits tax, which the Council has agreed to introduce, is a first step, but it still needs to be extended so that it covers all the super-profits companies have made as a result of this war and constitutes a real step towards overhauling our tax system and our social model. This crisis forces us to put justice and solidarity back at the heart of our priorities, hopefully for a long time.”
More:
The European Parliament resolution on the EU's response to rising energy prices will be voted on next Wednesday (5 October).
