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So Since the beginning of the conflict in the Middle East,

our fossil fuel import bill has increased by over €24 billion. That's more than €500 million per day.

These costs are being felt here and now in homes and businesses across Europe.

But the true impact of this crisis is long term. It is evolving. It is unpredictable.

Here it is important to be clear with our citizens.

The coming months will be filled with uncertainties.

The crisis will hit different member states in different ways.

As we cannot predict everything, we must be prepared for anything.

But in the face of these uncertainties, there are things that we can be certain about.

We can protect the most vulnerable citizens in our communities.

We can protect the most exposed sectors of our economies, such as energy intensive industries,

and crucially, we can take action that will protect us from future shocks.

We need to act fast, and we need to work together.

Because shared European action can protect us from the worst impacts of this crisis.

We will therefore work with member states to refill our gas stocks in time for next winter without adding unnecessary pressure on markets.

And we will step up action to ensure that the supply of fuels,

including for planes, is adequate across the whole Union.

I know this is a concern for many given the approach of summer.

We will coordinate more and better to secure supplies.

We will seek to maximize existing refining capacity in Europe and look into our rules on strategic and emergency stocks to see if more can be done.

When it comes to protecting consumers from price peaks,

member states have been given the tools that they need.

And the EU's role is to support,

coordinate and accelerate so that our actions can have as much impact as possible.

We present Member States with the best practices and the most effective solutions to protect the citizens and the sectors that are most exposed.

Energy vouchers for low income households, financial support for energy saving products,

national campaigns to promote energy efficiency,

practical steps like these that can truly make a difference.

We must focus on action that delivers double value by providing short term benefits while also helping citizens and industry to capture the long-term savings of clean energy. For example, Austria.

They are helping their vulnerable citizens to replace fossil fuel boilers.

Belgium and Germany are offering reduced VAT and lower electricity prices respectively to boost the installation of heat pumps.

France will relaunch its social leasing program for electric vehicles.

This enables modest modest income households to lease a new EV at affordable rates.

These are all examples of why we shouldn't simply burn taxpayers' money on fossil fuel subsidies.

We should use it to build up and invest in modern technologies that add value for European consumers and manufacturers year after year.

We will help member states to multiply solutions like these,

as well as to improve energy efficiency and replace oil and gas with alternatives like geothermal,

solar thermal, and advanced sustainable biofuels.

This must be a wake-up call and a turning point when Europe steps away from fossil fuel dependence and steps toward clean energy autonomy,

because now it is more obvious than ever. Clean energy means security. It means affordability. It means independence.

This is why today we propose an acceleration towards electrification.

Now is the time to push fossil fuels out of electricity production.

Now is the time to electrify industry, transport, heating systems and buildings across Europe.

As Europe, we must combine our efforts to roll out renewables and clean energy projects.

We must reinforce our infrastructure with more connections, more storage capacity, and more flexibility.

Crucially, we must drive more investments in clean transition.

That means unlocking every source of funding, EU,

national and private to member states, I say there are resources of people.

Where it makes sense for you and where you see the opportunity,

you can redirect these resources towards high impact energy projects that deliver rapid real world benefits for your people.

And we're here to help you with that. But we must go further.

We will convene a clean energy investment summit bringing together financiers,

developers and public institutions to turn ambition into action.

Our goal to mobilize the private investment that we so urgently need for immediate game changing solutions.

By investing in clean energy and electrification, we unlock more money for our economy.

In 2024 we spent €375 billion on the imports of fossil fuels.

In the future, instead of buying something and burning it to get energy and then buying it again.

We need to produce our own homegrown clean energy. Thank you.