29 October 2026 18:46 UTC · European Commission · EU Commission Press Release · Read original source ↗ · Email X Link

European Commission Reports on Energy Council Discussions and Winter Preparedness

Key points

European Commission notes that high gas and oil prices present challenges for citizens despite adequate supply.
Member States reaffirmed commitment to release 42.6 million barrels from strategic oil reserves.
European Commission reiterates technical and financial support for Ukraine's energy sector.

TL;DR

Commissioner Jørgensen states that the European Union faces a difficult winter with high gas and oil prices driven by the Middle East situation, though supply security is not currently threatened.
Member States discussed short-term measures including targeted subsidies and long-term transition efforts like electrification and heat pumps.
The European Union is stabilizing diesel markets through an accelerated release of 42.6 million barrels from strategic oil reserves.
The European Commission reiterates support for Ukraine to rebuild and secure its energy sector amid Russian attacks on infrastructure.

Original text

European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Press remarks by Commissioner Jørgensen following the Energy Council Brussels, 29 October 2026 Thank you, Ministers, I agree that we have had a very good day. There's no doubt that Ministers from all Member States know that we are facing a difficult winter, That the crisis that we're in right now, due to the situation in the Middle East, means that we are looking at very high prices of both gas and oil products. We do not expect a security of supply issue as such. But for the citizens that are struggling to pay their bills, that might not matter. If you are not able to pay your gas bill, it doesn't really matter how much gas is out there. So, we need to take this extremely seriously. And this is also why we today, among other things, discussed what can actually be done in the short term. And things can be done. So there's the possibility of course of using subsidies, if Member States choose to subsidise fossils, which I understand that sometimes can be necessary, we agree that these measures need to be targeted and temporary. I think it's also fair to say that there's a clear understanding in the room amongst ministers that supporting efforts that are also to the benefit of our long term transition is very beneficial. So, any measures that have to do with electrification, moving away from gas boilers, oil boilers into heat pumps, electric vehicles instead of combustion engine cars and so forth. This can really mean a lot also on the short term. Now, on the question of diesel, we are in the process of stabilising the diesel markets as best we can, as winter begins. Today, we had a very important discussion on the state of play of the oil stock release. EU Member States have reaffirmed their commitment to an accelerated release of 42.6 million barrels from strategic reserves over the next months. And around half of this will be diesel. We of course also discussed the situation in Ukraine. Unfortunately we are looking into a winter again that will be very harsh, with Russia keeping, unfortunately, the focus on attacking energy infrastructure in the most brutal way. And we stand firm in our support for Ukraine. Both technically, but obviously of course also financially, to rebuild and secure their energy sector Thank you. SPEECH/26/2302 <@rel_link@> Press contacts: Anna-Kaisa ITKONEN (+32 2 295 75 01) Cristiana MARCHITELLI (+32 2 298 94 07) General public inquiries: Europe Direct by phone 00 800 67 89 10 11 or by email

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