EU officials have seized on the crisis to reinforce a case they have been making since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: that the clean energy transition is as much a security strategy as a climate one.
Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen has urged governments to “double down” on renewables and push ahead with a stronger Energy Union strategy, arguing that expanding clean power capacity, reinforcing grids and deepening market integration are essential to shielding Europe from external shocks.
Public opinion broadly backs that argument, though the picture is not uniform. Italy emerges as the most enthusiastic, with 49 percent backing acceleration even if it temporarily increases bills, followed by Germany at 43 percent. France and Spain sit closer to the EU average, while Poland is the clear outlier, with just 27 percent supporting faster action and a larger share preferring to maintain the current pace.
Cost remains a key pressure point for many Europeans, with nearly a quarter of respondents (23 percent) saying Europe should slow the transition to keep energy bills down.
At the same time, Europeans show overwhelming support for a more assertive and self-reliant energy strategy: 93 percent said the EU should develop its own major energy companies capable of competing globally, while 96 percent said investing more in energy infrastructure is important.
The European Pulse survey, conducted by Cluster17 for POLITICO and beBartlet, polled 6,698 Europeans across Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Poland and Belgium from March 13 to March 21, with at least 1,000 respondents from each country. Results for each country were weighted to be representative on dimensions including age, gender and geography.