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LUXEMBOURG – Cautious about compensation for energy price increases, the government “will take measures if necessary”, indicates Claude Turmes, who above all advocates new travel habits.
Customers flock to gas stations to fill up the day before a price hike.
Vincent Lescaut
Like other European countries, Luxembourg has experienced a historic rise in fuel prices, with diesel exceeding 2 euros per liter last week. If a significant drop followed this “overheating on the markets” according to the Minister of Energy, Claude Turmes, several neighboring countries have nevertheless decided to react, France announcing in particular a discount of 15 cents per liter of fuel.
Measures that Luxembourg “will observe carefully”, indicates the minister to The essential, but which will not necessarily be imitated. For the Ecologist, Luxembourg already has effective mechanisms with the automatic indexation of wages “which constitutes good compensation for the majority of the population”. Especially since financial aid has also been put in place for the most modest people, he recalls. Mr. Turmes cites in particular the stabilization of electricity prices or the increase in the cost of living allowance (at least 200 euros more per household).
“The price of diesel has fallen, and the cost of fuel is even lower than that of our neighbors,” said Minister Déi Gréng, while conceding that “additional measures will be taken if necessary.” When questioned, the Ministry of Finance imagines that “no decision” will be taken before the tripartite, which is to bring together the government, employers and the union.
Luxembourg 25% dependent on Russian gas
Is a reduction in taxes possible thanks to the surplus VAT from which the State has benefited? “The excise duties are used to finance the hospital and the social system”, calms Claude Turmes. On the part of the Ministère des Finances, caution is also in order regarding the prospect of reacting with immediate fiscal measures to market fluctuations.
Claude Turmes promotes renewable energies.
Editpress
So no haste in response to the volatility of energy prices, but a full awareness of the long-term challenges in terms of energy supply. Luxembourg is 25% dependent on Russian gas. This is less than Germany (55%), but a cut in the Russian energy tap decided on the scale of Europe or on the side of the Kremlin would inevitably harm the economy of the Grand Duchy.
“Fossil fuels make us dependent on a geopolitical situation and subject to blackmail from abroad, as at the moment in Russia”, points out Claude Turmes, who encourages those who can to review their mode of travel: “Luxembourg has an efficient and, above all, free public transport network. It may also be the time to go electric for those who want to change their car”, he believes, considering that electricity will be “the most stable energy” in terms of price in the years to come.