Brussels, November 25, 2024
After a formal request for transparency from the Stop Fossil Subsidies campaign, the European Commission has released long-awaited data on energy subsidies across the EU, on the basis of which the 2023 DG ENER report on energy subsidies was delivered.
The data is available in this folder and on the Commission transparency website (Member State Factsheets, Country Data Controls and Observations, Energy Subsidies Inventory).
The release follows criticism directed at the Commission, particularly at European Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, for failing to deliver on transparency commitments. Stop Fossil Subsidies highlighted the inconsistencies between Hoekstra’s rhetoric about transparency and the lack of basic follow-through on making crucial data public.
“It’s odd that Commissioner Hoekstra underscores the importance of transparency for phasing out fossil fuel subsidies while the Commission ignores the simplest steps to improve it,” the campaign said.
The request for this data, which should have been publicly accessible a year ago, underscores deeper issues within the EU’s handling of subsidy transparency. Stop Fossil Subsidies raised pointed questions:
- Why was this data withheld?
- Will the dataset of the 2024 study on energy subsidies be made fully public?
Despite the belated release, questions about the EU Commission’s commitment to transparency remain. The campaign has called out both Commissioner Hoekstra and Commissioner Dan Jørgensen for failing to “walk the talk” on fossil fuel phase-out commitments.
“If even the lowest of the low-hanging fruit—such as releasing already-collected data—requires advocacy, it’s hard to trust the Commission’s willingness to tackle the phase out of fossil fuel subsidies,” Stop Fossil Subsidies stated.
This latest development is a critical reminder of the urgent need for the EU to hold itself accountable to its climate goals. Transparency on energy subsidies is not just a bureaucratic formality—it’s a foundational step to ending fossil fuel subsidies and ensuring a fair energy transition.
Stop Fossil Subsidies will continue to monitor and push for full disclosure of the 2024 study and calls on all EU institutions to match words with action.
