AccelerateEU: Commission publishes key measures to achieve affordable and secure energy supply amidst global energy crisis

On 22 April 2026, the European Commission published its AccelerateEU – Energy Union: Affordable and Secure Energy through Accelerated Action Communication (AccelerateEU). It sets out the Commission’s long-awaited crisis response to the conflict in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The press release announcing the adoption of AccelerateEU was also accompanied by a Q&A and a factsheet. 

The Communication sets out wide-ranging upcoming initiatives aimed at swiftly addressing soaring energy costs and safeguarding Europe’s energy security and competitiveness. These measures are being discussed by EU leaders at an informal summit in Cyprus on 23-24 April 2026.

Key takeaways 

• AccelerateEU combines short-term emergency tools and structural longer-term measures aimed at reducing dependency on volatile fossil fuel markets and building Europe’s resilience through homegrown clean energy and electrification.

• The Commission will publish, by the summer 2026, an Electrification Action Plan including a new electrification target, initiatives to increase the uptake of geothermal energy, biomethane and renewable hydrogen, measures addressing barriers for the electrification of the industrial, transport and building sectors, and the phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies. 

• Nuclear energy is identified as an important component of decarbonisation, industrial competitiveness and security of supply strategies. 

• On 13 May 2026, the Commission will present a catalogue of replicable measures to deliver energy savings and system efficiency gains, and to substitute fossil fuels with homegrown clean energy.

• The Commission will publish a new legislative proposal on network charges and taxation in May 2026 and calls on EU co-legislators to conclude negotiations on the European Grids Package by the summer 2026.

• The Commission announces a review of the EU Emissions Trading System by July 2026.

Background

AccelerateEU is issued against the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the recent spikes in the prices of imported fossil fuels. 

On 19 March 2026, the EU Heads of Government requested that the Commission present “a toolbox of targeted temporary measures” to address these spikes, lower electricity prices and reduce excessive volatility in the short term. The adoption of AccelerateEU on 22 April 2026 is the Commission’s direct response to this call for action.

The Accelerate EU Communication states that the current situation calls for timely, targeted and temporary measures to protect the most vulnerable consumers, but also stresses that these measures should be aligned with the EU’s longer-term objectives to increase homegrown, clean and abundant energy production, electrify demand and strengthen EU manufacturing capacity. The Commission emphasises that this plan forms part of a dynamic, evolving response, and that it will keep measures under review and act further if the situation deteriorates.

AccelerateEU: an overview

The Commission structured AccelerateEU around five pillars. These are designed both to address short-term price shocks and to accelerate structural changes in the EU energy system. The AccelerateEU Communication is also accompanied by Annexes setting out concrete good national practices and a toolkit of measures available to Member States to provide immediate relief.

1. Closer coordination

The first pillar focuses on EU-level coordination to manage security of supply risks and reduce market fragmentation.

The Commission first emphasises the need for enhanced coordination at European Union level, which it notes has already delivered clear benefits. Joint action under the RePowerEU Plan following Russia’s aggression against Ukraine enabled the EU to reduce its gas demand by 18% between August 2022 and March 2023, easing immediate pressures and supporting longer-term stability. The EU Energy Platform (AggregateEU) helped aggregate European gas demand and connect European industrial buyers with international suppliers.

The Commission identifies several priority areas for strengthened coordination: gas storage filling and the use of flexibilities in storage rules, potential oil stock releases, national emergency measures, and ensuring the availability of (military) jet fuel and diesel, including through the optimisation of oil refinery production capacities. 

Immediate steps:

• The Commission will facilitate coordination of national action on gas storage filling and on possible oil stock releases (including jet fuel and diesel), working through the Gas Coordination Group and Oil Coordination Group respectively.

• The Commission encourages Member States to make use of flexibility in gas storage filling (up to 10%), with the Commission standing ready to assess a further increase of the permitted deviation threshold (up to an additional 5%) under the updated EU Gas Storage Regulation.

• From May 2026, the Commission will create a Fuel Observatory, mapping supply of relevant transport fuels (produced in the EU, imported and exported) and available stocks, including military fuel stocks and refining capacities.

• Also from May 2026, the Commission will issue guidance clarifying existing flexibilities in the EU legislative framework for aviation, notably on airport slots, anti-tankering, public service obligations and the use of imported fuels. If the situation worsens and existing flexibilities no longer suffice, the Commission will propose temporary changes to the applicable EU legislative framework.

• The Commission will start the process to revise the Oil Stocks Directive to address weaknesses identified during the current crisis.

2. Protecting consumers and industry from price shocks 

The second pillar addresses short-term relief for households and businesses, while aiming to preserve incentives for energy savings and electrification.

The existing EU’s legislative framework, including the Citizens Energy Package, already offers a range of tools for Member States. These include targeted income support, energy vouchers for replacing gas boilers, social tariffs, reduced excise duties on electricity for vulnerable households and energy-intensive industries, VAT reductions for heat pumps and solar panels, and tax incentives for electric vehicles.

Given that oil consumption is concentrated in the transport sector, the Commission stresses that national measures should maintain freight flows and passenger connectivity while promoting the shift to e-‑mobility (referencing the proposed Regulation on clean corporate vehicles).

On 13 May 2026, the Commission will present a catalogue of replicable measures, based on an assessment of the most effective measures taken since 2022, to deliver energy savings and system efficiency gains, and to substitute fossil fuels with homegrown clean energy. 

On the State aid front, the Commission will adopt a State aid temporary framework setting out the conditions under which Member States may develop and implement targeted temporary emergency measures to support those economic sectors most exposed to price spikes. This mirrors the approach taken in March 2022 with the Temporary Crisis Framework adopted in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which was later replaced by the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF). By 14 April 2026, the Commission reports that it had adopted 18 decisions under CISAF, approving 19 State aid measures for a total budget of EUR 32.76 billion, including EUR 20.22 billion approved under the section on renewable energy. 

3. Accelerating the shift to homegrown clean energy and electrification  

The third pillar is focused on increasing clean energy supply and electrifying demand, with immediate actions expected to produce medium-term benefits.

The Commission underlines that Member States should, in line with the Clean Industrial Deal (see our previous blogpost here), replace significant volumes of oil and gas by accelerating the shift to clean, homegrown and abundant energy. This covers both electrification and the deployment of solar thermal and geothermal energy, as well as other renewables, nuclear, biomethane, sustainable biofuels and hydrogen.

To that end, the Commission highlights the need to increase the renewable electricity capacity deployed each year to 100 gigawatts. To deliver at pace, it stresses that permitting procedures should be shortened to a maximum of two years across Europe by the end of 2026. Maximising the output of existing renewable energy assets is also identified as a key lever for immediate relief. 

Nuclear energy is identified as key to decarbonisation, industrial competitiveness and security of supply. The rapid deployment of homegrown new small modular reactors (SMRs), in line with the SMR Strategy (see our previous blog post), and avoiding the premature retirement of existing nuclear capacity, are seen as essential to reducing fossil fuel use.

In 2024, 71% of EU electricity generation came from clean energy sources. However, electricity represents less than a quarter of final energy consumption, leaving significant scope for electrification to displace fossil fuels in transport, buildings and industry.

By the summer, the Commission will publish an Electrification Action Plan which will include an ambitious electrification target to accelerate the move to a clean and homegrown energy system. This will include addressing barriers in the industrial, transport and building sectors to the electricity of the economy, as well as the phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies.

From May 2026, the Commission will also create an EU-level geothermal database to gather detailed geological data and develop geothermal de-risking and insurance schemes to unlock private capital. In parallel, the Commission will continue supporting initiatives on solar thermal, biomethane and hydrogen, including a targeted review of the production criteria for renewable hydrogen, while safeguarding existing investments. By 30 June 2026, the Commission will launch a public consultation on a draft methodology setting out criteria for the potential introduction of alternative approaches to recognising low-carbon electricity from nuclear power plants.  

4. Stepping up the EU energy system: a genuine Energy Union 

Recognising that the measures under the other pillars require a fit-for-purpose grid, the Commission’s fourth pillar addresses energy infrastructure transformation, system flexibility and digitalisation.

Concretely, the Commission will take the following immediate steps:

• It urges Member States to fully transpose the EU energy legislation and for co-legislators to conclude negotiations on the European Grids Package (see here) by the summer 2026. The Commission will also continue working with Member States to fast track the Energy Highways initiative.

  In addition, the Commission will continue working with Member States to fast track the Energy Highways initiative across the eight priority corridors, including by reinforcing political engagement, strengthening investment frameworks and tackling permitting and regulatory bottlenecks.

• Regarding grid optimization, system flexibility and network charges, from May 2026 onwards, the Commission will support Member States in identifying end-of-life generation plants (including wind farms) that can be repowered to increase supply in the near term. The Commission also announced the adoption in May 2026 of a legal proposal on network charges and taxation aimed at optimising use of grid infrastructure and incentivising system-friendly consumption.. The Commission’s preferential regime for energy-intensive industries shows that the energy transition is seen as a potential engine of industrial growth, provided the EU can scale up its own manufacturing capabilities (along the same lines, see also our previous blog post on the Industrial Accelerator Act).

• Regarding regulatory implementation, the Commission also announced its intention to ramp up enforcement in 2026-2027, by closely monitoring consistent implementation of relevant EU energy legislation, including on permitting, storage, flexibility and cross‑zonal capacity. 

Finally, although not explicitly listed in the immediate actions section, the Commission also underlines the need for widespread deployment of smart meters (at least 50% coverage of final consumers by 2031), demand response, and flexibility assets such as batteries and pumped hydro. In particular, the Commission noted that EU electricity storage capacity stands at around 55 GW and indicates a need to increase this to about 200 GW by 2030, with batteries expected to play a significant role.

5. Boosting investments

The fifth and last pillar focuses on financing, with a strong emphasis on mobilising EU and national public funds to catalyse and scale up private investment. In large part, this pillar refers back to the Clean Energy Investment Strategy which the Commission adopted in March 2026 (see our previous blog post).

This fifth pillar also contains the much awaited and debated review of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). The Commission confirmed that it will propose changes to the ETS by July 2026 and it will consult Member States on the update of the ETS benchmarks “soon”. These changes will complement already-proposed changes to the Market Stability Reserve (see here). As part of the review, the Commission plans to increase financial support for industrial decarbonisation via the Industrial Decarbonisation Bank, mobilising 100 billion EUR of funding. This will include an ‘ETS Investment Booster’ financed by 400 million EU ETS allowances, designed to enhance investment certainty for energy-intensive industries. Lower-income Member States will have guaranteed access. The Commission will also consider whether to extend the volume and duration of the ETS Sustainable Aviation Fuel support.

What now?

AccelerateEU is the Commission’s most comprehensive energy crisis response package since REPowerEU. It signals the Commission’s policy direction and outlines a dense timetable of initiatives. Businesses should monitor AccelerateEU’s implementation and engage early in relevant consultations as the Commission’s agenda progresses through 2026 and 2027.

If you would like to discuss any aspect of AccelerateEU, please reach out to the contacts on this post, or to your usual Linklaters contact.