Europe must reduce the import of fossil energy, one of “its main vulnerabilities” that weighs on the ECB’s mission, estimated this Tuesday, 7th, a senior official at the monetary institution who called for investments in clean, locally produced energy.
“Europe’s energy dependence increasingly complicates the task of maintaining price stability”, lamented in a blog note Frank Elderson, member of the European Central Bank (ECB) board and vice-president of the Supervisory Board.
The Old Continent must “make the transition now or pay dearly later”, said Elderson, calling for “reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels” and “accelerating an orderly transition to locally produced clean energy”.
According to the official, “achieving the continent’s clean energy objectives would weaken the link between global market volatility and domestic prices.”
Annual inflation in the euro zone rose to 2.5% in March, the highest level since January 2025 due to rising energy prices linked to the war in the Middle East.
And due to this increase, the ECB revised its inflation forecast for 2026 upwards in March, to 2.6% against 1.9% previously.
According to Elderson, a decarbonization strategy “would result in fewer shocks to households, businesses, public finances and financial markets – and, ultimately, greater macroeconomic stability and more stable prices.”
The investment required is considerable – 660,000 million euros per year until 2030, according to the European Commission – but “focusing only on these costs is deeply misleading”.
“Investing in clean and sustainable energy replaces the substantial expenditure dedicated to fossil fuels”, he estimated.
For the central banker, “the question is no longer whether Europe can afford this transition” but “whether it can afford not to.”
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