Top European business leaders on Wednesday urged the European Union to act swiftly to reduce soaring energy prices, warning they are undermining the bloc’s industrial competitiveness against the United States and China.
The appeal was made in Antwerp, Belgium, on the eve of an informal EU leaders’ retreat at a Belgian castle to discuss Europe’s economic strategy.
Executives from energy-intensive industries said high power costs were a central reason Europe was falling behind rival economies.
Clariant CEO Conrad Keijzer and Heidelberg Materials’ Europe chief Jon Morrish told Reuters that expensive electricity was forcing firms to reconsider or shift investments outside Europe.
They blamed the loss of cheap Russian gas after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, along with grid congestion, national taxes and carbon costs, for driving prices higher.
Industrial electricity prices in Europe are now more than double those in the United States and China, industry leaders said.
The EU’s power pricing system, which links electricity prices to costly gas-fired plants, was also cited as a major structural problem.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen acknowledged that prices remain high due to weak grid connections and heavy reliance on fossil fuels.
She said better interconnection of power networks would allow cheaper low-carbon electricity to flow more freely across the bloc.
The Commission has proposed faster permits for grid projects and lower national energy taxes, though many governments remain reluctant to act.