I just found out about something happening in Brussels that probably affects many people on the old continent. The European Commission is preparing a pretty significant move for April 13th: they will propose a substantial reduction in energy taxes and electricity grid tariffs.

The interesting part is that this is not just an isolated measure. On April 22nd, they will release a full policy document detailing how they plan to address the issue of natural gas prices and energy in general. The situation has been quite tense, especially after what happened with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The numbers are impressive when you see them. According to data from the Jacques Delors Institute, since that conflict began, 22 EU member states have had to implement more than 120 different measures. The total cost of this amounts to around 900 million euros, nearly 1.05 billion dollars. And that’s just what they have spent directly to mitigate the impact. Then there are an additional 1.3 billion euros they have had to disburse due to increased costs of importing fossil fuels.

Seriously, when you see natural gas prices skyrocket like this, you understand why governments are taking such drastic measures. It’s not just a clean energy issue; it’s a problem that’s directly hitting businesses and consumers. The idea is that with these tax cuts, they can ease the pressure, at least a little.