Europeans struggling with high energy bills: Commissioner

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - People in Europe are struggling with high energy bills, and the EU is still importing fuels from Russia, the European commissioner responsible for energy and housing said on Wednesday.

The EU may save €45 billion ($47.3 billion) in energy imports by deploying clean energy faster, providing more renewable energy, and more energy efficiency, Dan Jorgensen said.

Saying that European citizens are struggling with the high energy prices, he underlined that around 47 million Europeans last year were not able to adequately heat their homes.

"High energy prices are damaging our ability to compete. We pay 2-3 times more for energy in our industries in Europe than our competitors in the US and China," he said.

"We need to lower our prices significantly," he stressed.

Saying this issue is also related to security, he noted: "Europe is buying Russian gas and thereby indirectly helping Putin finance his war."

Since the beginning of the Russian war on Ukraine, Europe imported fossil fuels from Russia for an amount equal to the price of 2,400 F-35 fighter jets, he stated.