PRESS MATERIAL
Friday 14 October 2022
● Council of the EU
14/10/2022 | Press release |
Presidency press release - Informal meeting of ministers for employment and social affairs discusses the impact of the energy crisis
At the second day of the informal meeting of ministers for employment and social affairs, representatives of member states, European social partners and NGOs discussed the impact of rising energy and commodity prices on EU citizens.
Read the full text of the press release in EN and CZ.
Further information
Dmitrij Černikov
Czech presidency spokesperson (Coreper 1)
Tel. +32 2 2139 440
GSM +32 472 904 980
dmitrij_cernikov@mzv.cz
Press release
14 October 202213:00
The Informal EPSCO Council discusses the impact of the energy crisis
On 14 October 2022, the informal EPSCO Council continued its meeting at the Prague Congress Centre. Representatives of Member States responsible for the employment and social policy agenda, European social partners and NGOs discussed primarily the impact of rising energy and commodity prices on EU citizens.
Impacts of rising energy prices
The energy crisis is a key topic that now affects all member states. Energy prices began to rise in the summer of 2021 with increasing tension in the international energy market after the pandemic, and mainly due to the Russian aggression against Ukraine. The effects of high prices on households are already significant and do not only affect vulnerable groups of the population. The middle class feel the impacts as well. The main contribution on this topic was delivered by a representative of the European agency Eurofound.
"To achieve our common goal of reducing the number of people at risk of poverty by at least 15 million by 2030, we will have to implement a number of measures in various policy areas in the short and long term," said Minister Jurečka. The discussion covered, among other things, the most effective measures to date in each country to address the impact of rising energy prices, potential gaps in established mechanisms and tools, specific solutions to the energy crisis and their impact on the most vulnerable households. "In the Czech Republic, we have adopted a whole range of measures. From the point of view of energy security, we secured sufficient gas supplies in time and lowered the minimum permitted temperatures in various types of institutions and facilities, we are also trying to reduce consumption in households. As part of the solution to the sudden increase in energy prices, we introduced the price cap on gas and electricity and also cost-saving energy tariff, which reduces household bills. We also address the social impacts of the energy crisis by helping households in the area of social security benefits," explained Jurečka.
Long-term plans related to solving the situation in households with low and medium incomes were also an essential topic. The common goal of the member states is to prevent more people from falling into energy poverty. "In the longer term, it is essential that we take measures to reduce energy consumption. For example, in the area of reducing the energy consumption of housing or wider use of clean energy sources," the minister added.
