Friedrich Lein: Middle East situation escalates, Europe has paid the price for energy dependence.

On March 11th local time, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated during a plenary session of the European Parliament that the situation in the Middle East has impacted global energy markets, with turmoil in the Gulf region quickly driving up prices. As long as Europe continues to import large quantities of fossil fuels from unstable regions, it will not be able to escape vulnerability and dependence. She pointed out that since the conflict erupted, natural gas prices have risen by 50% and oil prices by 27%, resulting in an additional expenditure of approximately 3 billion euros for European taxpayers in just 10 days due to fossil fuel imports. Von der Leyen stated that the EU will continue to pursue a long-term strategy of developing local sources of renewable energy and nuclear energy, and is currently working on plans to lower energy prices.