The European Commission has launched a series of measures titled AccelerateEU to tackle the current fossil fuel energy crisis by accelerating the shift to clean, homegrown energy.
Measures outlined by the AccelerateEU proposal include close coordination between Member States, the establishment of a new Fuel Observatory to track transport fuel developments, and the adoption of a State Aid Temporary Framework to allow national governments to provide, among other things, emergency measures to support the most exposed economic sectors. It also proposes an acceleration of the shift to homegrown clean energy through an Electrification Action Plan, to be presented by the summer, with targets and measures to remove barriers to the electrification of the industrial, transport and building sectors, as well as measures to improve the grid system.
The Commission has also pledged to assist Member States to make maximum use of available EU funding for the energy transition. While significant resources are available at EU level, the amount required (€660 billion a year until 2030) will not be met by public money alone. Therefore, to mobilise private investments, the Commission adopted a Clean Energy Investment Strategy in March 2026, and will organise a Clean Energy Investment Summit to bring together the financial services industry, including major institutional investors, industrial leaders, project developers and public financiers to accelerate private financing.
All are designed to help Member States and local authorities provide immediate support to protect households and industries from what the EU’s statement describes as “price volatility caused by dependence on imported fossil”. Although it stresses that EU’s energy security is currently not at risk, the short-term and longer-term measures are designed to support the EU’s goal to achieve energy independence, through a decarbonised and resilient energy system based on homegrown clean energy and electrification. Commenting, Ireland's EU Commissioner Michael McGrath, reportedly stated that “Reducing our dependence on imported fossil fuels is in all our shared interests”.
Earlier this month, the European Commission positively assessed Ireland's fourth payment request for €249 million under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU. The reforms and investmentstied to this payment request aim to drive positive change for citizens and businesses in Ireland in the areas of railway electrification, e-health, public administration, higher education, re-skilling and up-skilling, and renewable energy deployment. Flagship measures in this payment request include accelerating offshore wind energy, digitalising healthcare finance and upskilling for the green and digital transition. The Commission has now sent its preliminary assessment of Ireland's fulfilment of the milestones and targets required for this payment to the Council's Economic and Financial Committee (EFC). The payment to Ireland can take place following the EFC's opinion, and the adoption of a payment decision by the Commission. An interactive map of projects financed by the RRF, as well as the Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard, is available online.
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