EU energy bill jumps €100 billion after Hormuz closure exposes import dependence

EU ministers met in Dublin as the Hormuz closure sent energy import costs soaring. The shock has sharpened calls to cut fossil fuel dependence and build stronger power networks.Brussels,Sep 29, 2026 16:44 ISTEuropean Union countries have spent more than 100 billion euros extra on energy imports since the outbreak of the Iran war, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz sent fuel prices sharply higher and renewed concern over the bloc's dependence on imported fossil fuels. At a meeting of EU energy ministers in Dublin, officials said the crisis had increased pressure to speed up the shift to electricity and expand power infrastructure across the 27-member bloc.Consumers in some European countries are paying nearly 50 per cent more at the pump, or more than USD 11 a gallon, after the closure of the strait, a key waterway through which a fifth of the world's traded oil passed in peacetime. EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen said the extra spending had brought no additional supply. "Times are serious," he said, adding that despite the extra money spent, member states had not received "one extra molecule of gas or oil".Jorgensen said ministers would discuss plans to accelerate the move away from fossil fuels and strengthen electrical infrastructure across the bloc. The EU became heavily dependent on the US for direct energy imports after ending its long-standing reliance on Russia following Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, said Europe was especially vulnerable on diesel. "Europe is one of the most exposed regions - if not the most exposed one - when it comes to diesel because Europe imports a huge amount of diesel and we are entering the harsh season, the winter season," he said. About 50 per cent of Europe's diesel supply comes directly from the US. That dependence has raised fresh concern after Republicans in key US states called for a ban on diesel exports to shore up domestic supply ahead of crucial midterm elections, casting some doubt on President Donald Trump's 2025 deal to sell USD 750 billion worth of energy to the EU. Ireland's minister for climate, energy and the environment, Darragh O'Brien, said such a ban was "unlikely" because it would hurt economies on both sides of the Atlantic, but added that the EU must be ready for the worst. "We have to be guarded. We can't be complacent," O'Brien said.Jorgensen said he had sent "a very clear signal" to US authorities to drop the proposed ban, while also urging EU ministers to reduce the bloc's reliance on outside energy supplies that can be disrupted by war and politics. "This, of course, shows us just how bad it is for us to be dependent, just how unsustainable it is for us to be dependent on energy sources from other places in the world," he said. "We need to get out of that dependency. We need to replace the fossil fuels, the imported, polluting, expensive molecules with homegrown energy: green electrons." Finnish environment minister Sari Multala pointed to Finland as an example of energy independence. She said rising concern over energy prices ahead of winter "creates a lot of pressure for us politicians to try to help our citizens to cope with the situation". She added that nuclear reactors, turbines, peat bogs and hydropower dams provide 95 per cent of Finland's electricity, which "creates very reasonable prices for electricity". The meeting underlined the EU's effort to manage immediate price pressures while pushing for a longer-term shift away from imported fossil fuels.With PTI Inputs- Ends