Borzan: The Extraordinary Profits of Energy Companies are War Profiteering

Members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg supported the taxation of extraordinary profits made by energy companies during the crisis, which Croatian representative Biljana Borzan referred to as war profiteering.

Members of the European Parliament called for solidarity measures for those most affected by the energy crisis caused by Russia’s war against Ukraine and want the burden of the crisis to be redistributed to those who have made unexpected profits from it.

The Commission has already presented its plans for such a temporary levy, defined as a solidarity tax.

Czech Minister Ivan Bartoš, speaking on behalf of the EU Council chaired by his country, emphasized that the EU is seeking a common response to protect European ‘citizens and businesses from the consequences of an unjust war and to ensure them a sustainable cost of living’.

The European Commission is expected to present concrete proposals on how to reduce high energy prices, including a proposal for joint gas procurement to prevent member states from competing against each other in the market for this energy source, new energy-saving targets, negotiations with reliable gas suppliers, and a cap on wholesale gas prices.

Heads of state and government of EU member states will discuss these and other proposals on Thursday and Friday at a summit in Brussels before their possible adoption in November.

Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni dismissed claims during a plenary session in Strasbourg that support for Ukraine excludes support for European citizens, which was suggested by representatives mainly from right-wing groups and independent members, asserting that the EU can and must provide both types of support.

Gentiloni announced that the Commission will present a ‘massive package’ of measures to combat the crisis and that gradual consensus is being reached among member states on this issue.

The cap on wholesale gas prices is supported by the majority of member states, while Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands oppose it, stating that it could lead to disruptions in the gas market as producers might turn to other markets, leaving Europe without gas.

The Commission has also shown resistance to this idea and instead advocates for negotiating lower prices through reliable gas suppliers, such as Norway.

Markus Ferber, speaking on behalf of the European People’s Party, criticized the Commission’s response, stating that ‘we hear what needs to be done but little has been done’. The responses and plans of the Commission are ‘not proactive but reactive’, he assessed.

Social Democrat (S&D) representative Iratxe Garcia Perez, along with her colleagues later in the debate, emphasized that the EU’s response should be based on solidarity with the most vulnerable because ‘people should not have to choose between food and heating’.

Borzan: Let’s Take from the Rich, Give to the Poor

Croatian MEP Biljana Borzan (S&D) stated that the cost of the crisis should not be borne by citizens, but by those who have significantly profited during the crisis.

– It is time to take from those who have and give to those who do not. For some, the crisis is a godsend! Digital giants – although they are making huge profits, are laying off workers. Pharmaceutical companies have become richer than the states that subsidized the development of those same vaccines with public money by selling vaccines. The excess profit of energy companies this year will be 200 billion euros. This is war profiteering – emphasized Borzan.

She also added that ‘we need joint procurement of energy sources, cap gas prices, separate gas prices from electricity, and stop speculation in the energy market’. She also called for the extraordinary profits that companies make during crises to be taxed further.

Calls for solidarity with those most affected by the crisis were joined by representatives of the liberal (Renew), Green, and Left groups.

Members of the right-wing groups Identity and Democracy (ID), European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) criticized the Commission’s slow response to the crisis, and Polish Zdzisław Krasnodębski from the conservatives stated that ‘the entire energy and climate policy‘ of the Union needs to be re-evaluated.

Some independent representatives, such as Gilbert Collard, believe that the EU ‘has intervened in a war that is not ours‘ and that it should focus on the interests of its citizens.