EU leaders at Brussels summit weigh energy price relief and more support for Ukraine

Energy prices top the agenda

Surging energy prices were the first item on the agenda at a two-day summit of European Union leaders that opened in Brussels on Thursday, 15 October. The meeting follows a sharp rise in fuel and gas costs tied to the war in Iran and the chokehold Tehran placed on the Strait of Hormuz, the key route for oil and gas from the Gulf. Reports from the talks said no concrete proposals were on the table from the European Council, so the discussion focused largely on complaints about measures the European Commission president had already announced to help consumers and businesses cope with higher living costs. Leaders signalled that more would have to be done, or voters would feel the cost even more heavily.

Gas reserves proposal

Ursula von der Leyen wants leaders to examine bloc-wide strategic gas reserves, according to three diplomats and two EU officials who told POLITICO. Europe's gas storage caverns are normally refilled over the year by commercial operators, but they are running at record lows this year. High summer prices linked to the Iran war removed much of the incentive to restock, leaving the bloc underprepared for winter. One senior EU official described the reserve idea as a long-term measure that would cushion the bloc against future supply risks, in the way countries already hold oil and refined product stocks. Officials had not yet made clear what form such a reserve would take.

Ukraine and Russian energy

Leaders also discussed support for Ukraine after the United States allowed purchases of Russian diesel, a decision that raised alarm in Europe. Germany's Friedrich Merz and Estonia's Kristen Michal stressed the need to back Ukraine through the winter and to keep pressure on Russia's energy sector. The summit is considering tougher sanctions, including stricter visa restrictions for Russian citizens. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was expected to brief leaders on intensified Russian missile attacks. Trump's relationship with Zelenskyy has also suffered a fresh rupture over Kyiv's bombing of Russian oil plants.

Uneven national responses

Governments have responded unevenly, with cuts to fuel taxes, subsidies and other schemes. Measures reported so far include price-gouging checks at petrol stations and electric vehicle grants for French taxi drivers. Most interventions were budgeted on the assumption that the world economy would only need to weather a short blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The International Energy Agency said in a report from September 2026 that a barrel of diesel in the United States was up 94% on pre-war prices, and that Europe was "not far behind". The agency also said strategic reserves had helped keep the energy market from running away, for the moment.

Few quick fixes and electoral pressure

A senior EU official involved in backchannel talks described energy prices as one of the main political concerns for the leaders. Iran's strikes on US-aligned countries in the Gulf have badly damaged the region's oil and gas production facilities, which will take years to return to full output. Europe had also just come through a hottest-on-record summer in western Europe, which brought deadly wildfires and heatwaves, and a difficult winter now looks likely. Leaders know that a sustained rise in fuel, heating and inflation costs will weigh on their electoral prospects, which is why the pressure to act at this summit is strong.