A swift decrease in energy prices is urgently needed!
The hospitality sector depends heavily on energy. Light and gas in the accommodation establishments, restaurants and cafés is a must, while air conditioning for heating and cooling is often necessary depending on the season.
The sector is still recovering from the COVID crisis, as loans and tax referrals need to be paid. At the same time, companies study their business models to consider if they can remain open, given the usual low-profit margins (90% of the companies are micro-enterprises).
For these reasons, we welcome the efforts done by the EU institutions in introducing measures that will help curb energy prices. Concretely, we welcome the European Council’s decision asking the European Commission to propose more measures:
- a temporary EU framework to cap the price of gas in electricity generation,
- a new complementary price benchmark by early 2023 that more accurately reflects conditions on the gas market,
- a temporary dynamic price corridor on natural gas transactions to immediately limit episodes of excessive gas prices,
- improvements to the functioning of energy markets to increase market transparency,
- a mobilisation of relevant tools at national and EU levels to enhance the resilience of our economies and preserve Europe’s global competitiveness.
We welcome the acknowledgement by the EU institutions that investments in energy efficiency need to be stepped up, as well as in infrastructures and innovative renewable technologies. The sector needs incentives, subsidies, and tax relief to become more sustainably friendly and be able to avoid market dysfunctional prices.
