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Energy

The euro in the field of energy

A stronger role of the euro in energy transactions will help realise the energy union's key objectives.

The EU ranks as the world's largest energy importer and had an annual energy import bill averaging €300 billion in the period 2012-2019. Since the end of 2021, this figure has doubled (€600 billion) due to the energy price crisis.

The euro is a stable, reliable, and globally recognised currency that is widely accepted for international payments, yet approximately 85% of the EU’s energy imports are paid in US dollars.

Energy is a key strategic sector in the EU economy and therefore has a critical role to play in reinforcing the global position of the euro. In addition, strengthening the euro in energy trade and investments helps realise key objectives of the energy union, particularly delivering a safe, viable, and accessible energy supply to all Europeans.

The European Commission has taken several steps to give the necessary impulse to energy market participants to use the euro more in their transactions, including issuing a Recommendation (C/2018/ 811) in December 2018.

As a follow-up, the Commission hosted an event to consult stakeholders’ views on the mechanisms and practicalities of implementing the recommendation and launched, at the same time, a public consultation that ran from 14 February to 7 April 2019. The results of the consultation were presented in a Staff Working Document in June 2019. The European Central Bank (ECB) also published in 2020 a study on the International role of the Euro in 2020.

On 24 September 2020, the Commission presented an action plan on a Capital Markets Union for people and businesses, which aims at developing and integrating European capital markets in order to contribute to the EU’s recovery and to an inclusive and resilient economy that works for all, as well as enabling the transition towards a digital and a sustainable economy.

On the same date, the Commission adopted a Digital Finance Strategy including a Retail Payments Strategy for the EU. That strategy set out general lines on how Europe can support the digital transformation of finance in the coming years while regulating its risks.

On January 2021,the Commission published the communication “The European economic and financial system: fostering openness, strength and resilience”, a strategy aiming to better enable Europe to play a leading role in global economic governance, while protecting the EU from unfair and abusive practices.

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