2026 European energy crisis fiscal response tracker

The authors are grateful to Ugnė Keliauskaitė for her useful comments on previous drafts.

Introduction 

Following the US-Israeli attack on Iran on 28 February 2026 and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz, global oil and gas prices have surged. To mitigate the economic impacts of this major energy shock on households and businesses, several European governments are introducing a range of fiscal measures.

This tracker provides an overview of these short-term measures. So far, the majority of funds are being spent on untargeted measures, contrary to recommendations from several institutions, including the European Commission¹ and the European Central Bank².

An important caveat applies: currently, we only consider measures with clearly defined amounts. Measures without a clearly defined budget, announced amount or that are budget-neutral are not tracked. The tracker’s coverage will be continuously updated and expanded. We are happy to receive any feedback or comments to enhance its granularity (please write to: [email protected]).

Total amounts committed by governments 

In total, European governments have so far committed more than €11 billion in fiscal measures to cushion the impacts of the US-Iran war on energy bills.

In absolute numbers, Spain and Germany have committed by far the most, with Spain alone accounting for almost half of the total. In relative terms (as a share of GDP), Spain, Bulgaria, Greece, and Ireland are the frontrunners.

Type of measures

So far, more than 72% of the total amount (€8.3bn) consists of untargeted measures, such as general energy excise duty or VAT cuts, which lack a clear target group or conditionality.

The largest sums are spent on lowering excise duties or VAT. Several countries have also introduced sectoral measures (eg fuel rebates), while only four have introduced measures targeting households specifically.

The overwhelming majority of measures target fossil fuels or both fossil fuels and electricity. Only three measures out of a total of 41 measures exclusively target electricity.

Measures per country

Methodology

• A complete list of measures with all sources can be downloaded here.
• So far, the tracker only includes measures where total budgeted amounts are provided.
• Amounts in local currencies are converted to Euro based on the ECB exchange rate of 15 April 2026.