The European Council asked the Commission to carry out an analysis and submit proposals by the end of January 2023 to mobilize all relevant EU and national instruments to respond to the impact of high energy prices.

Considering the impact of high energy prices in Europe, the European Council stresses the importance of an ambitious European industrial policy in order to prepare Europe’s economy for the green and digital transition and to reduce strategic dependencies, especially in the most sensitive areas, ensuring at the same time that fair competition conditions are shown in the energy and economy chapter of the conclusions of the EU summit, held on Thursday and Friday in Brussels.

The European Council recalls, in this context, the need for a coordinated response to increase Europe’s economic resilience and its global competitiveness, while maintaining the integrity of the single market.

In addition to short-term measures, the European Union must address long-term challenges, in particular the growth and innovation gap between Europe and its global competitors. In this sense, the Commission is asked to present, at the beginning of 2023, a strategy at the EU level to stimulate competitiveness and productivity, according to Agerpres.