In brief | 22 April ‘26

Reuters: EU aims to ease energy blow from Iran war with tax cuts, gas coordination

The European Commission set out plans to cut electricity taxes and coordinate the summer refill of countries' gas storage, as it seeks to cushion the energy fallout from the Iran war.

EU: EU energy and climate diplomacy – strengthening sovereignty and advancing the global clean transition

The EU Council reconfirmed the EU’s commitment to the clean transition as the most effective strategy towards achieving Europe’s strategic autonomy.

IPSOS: Support for energy transition increasingly conditional - survey

Public support for transitioning to clean energy is increasingly conditional, contingent on affordability, reliability, and security trade-offs, the Ipsos People and Climate Change Report 2026 showed.

Reuters: Druzhba pipeline restarts Russian oil flows to Europe, unblocking EU loan for Kyiv

Russian oil ​flowed through the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba pipeline, after a halt lasting months, officials ‌said, unblocking a 90 billion euro EU loan urgently needed by Kyiv.

Politico: Lufthansa axes 20,000 ‘unprofitable’ flights to save jet fuel

Airline says jet fuel costs have doubled since the start of the Iran conflict.

Reuters: Volkswagen to cut capacity further by one million cars, CEO says

“We're currently looking ‌at ⁠cutting a further million units of capacity to reflect the ​global ​market ⁠situation,” Blume tells Manager Magazin.

NL Times: Dutch cabinet plans €50M subsidy for electric cars in energy package

Subsidy to help people on low and middle incomes buy an electric vehicle, would require recipients to trade in their gasoline-powered cars.

CREA: EU countries with cleanest energy mix will save 58 percent more on bills than counterparts still hooked on fossil fuels

Despite the sharp rise in prices and fears over supplies, CREA analysis found that the bloc remains better protected from price sensitivity than in 2022 — the last energy crisis for the bloc in the aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Zero Carbon Analytics: Europeans turn to clean energy amid fossil fuel price shock

High fossil fuel prices and concerns over energy security have led to a surge in solar PV and electric vehicle inquiries across several European markets.