https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Europe in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Austria's gas stores are filling more slowly than they did last year as high wholesale prices weigh on the European market. So, will there be enough gas for the winter? https://www.thelocal.com/20260907/is-austrias-gas-supply-secure-for-the-coming-winter Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:25:39 +0200 is-austrias-gas-supply-secure-for-the-coming-winter Six EU countries are stepping up calls for a bloc-wide windfall tax on oil companies as profits soar due to the Middle East war, according to a letter seen by AFP Saturday. https://www.thelocal.com/20260823/six-eu-countries-urge-windfall-tax-on-energy-firms Sun, 23 Aug 2026 12:37:46 +0200 six-eu-countries-urge-windfall-tax-on-energy-firms France on Wednesday recorded a more than 20 percent shortfall in nuclear power production capacity, a record deficit caused by environmentally related outages linked to drought, extreme heat and a jellyfish invasion. https://www.thelocal.com/20260812/extreme-weather-and-jellyfish-knock-one-fifth-of-frances-nuclear-capacity-offline Wed, 12 Aug 2026 15:10:32 +0200 extreme-weather-and-jellyfish-knock-one-fifth-of-frances-nuclear-capacity-offline Sweden will become one of the cheapest countries in Europe for petrol and diesel when it slashes taxes on July 1st. https://www.thelocal.com/20260629/norwegian-drivers-set-to-flock-to-sweden-as-fuel-prices-plummet-to-1999-levels Mon, 29 Jun 2026 08:43:08 +0200 norwegian-drivers-set-to-flock-to-sweden-as-fuel-prices-plummet-to-1999-levels Sweden's government is going to take a direct majority stake in a company planning to build three small modular reactors (SMRs), the country's first new nuclear reactors in half a century. https://www.thelocal.com/20260625/swedish-government-to-take-direct-stake-in-new-nuclear-reactors Thu, 25 Jun 2026 12:55:08 +0200 swedish-government-to-take-direct-stake-in-new-nuclear-reactors The package, announced in a press conference on May 13th, includes reduced tax on petrol and diesel as well as state support for cheaper public transit. https://www.thelocal.com/20260513/swedens-government-announces-17-5-billion-kronor-energy-crisis-package Wed, 13 May 2026 13:29:24 +0200 swedens-government-announces-17-5-billion-kronor-energy-crisis-package Sweden's government said that the country might need to ration fuel – but there are no imminent plans of doing so – if the Middle East war drags on. https://www.thelocal.com/20260423/sweden-may-have-to-ration-fuel-as-worst-energy-crisis-in-a-long-time-deepens Thu, 23 Apr 2026 13:48:41 +0200 sweden-may-have-to-ration-fuel-as-worst-energy-crisis-in-a-long-time-deepens The European Union said on Tuesday that it was considering importing more jet fuel from the US and requiring member states to hold minimum reserves as the Middle East war squeezes supplies. Brussels will lay out a series of measures on Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.com/20260421/we-must-be-ready-eu-to-lay-out-its-plan-to-deal-with-jet-fuel-crisis Tue, 21 Apr 2026 14:48:22 +0200 we-must-be-ready-eu-to-lay-out-its-plan-to-deal-with-jet-fuel-crisis Italy could bring in nationwide emergency measures to save energy as early as May if disruption to fuel supplies in the Middle East continues. Here's what the government is planning. https://www.thelocal.com/20260408/driving-and-air-conditioning-whats-in-italys-energy-saving-emergency-plan Wed, 08 Apr 2026 12:11:15 +0200 driving-and-air-conditioning-whats-in-italys-energy-saving-emergency-plan The price of diesel fuel has rocketed by more than 30 percent across Europe since the start of the Middle East war highlighting the continent's dependence on imported energy and the lingering prominence of diesel on the car market. https://www.thelocal.com/20260404/european-drivers-choke-on-rising-diesel-prices Sat, 04 Apr 2026 16:17:02 +0200 european-drivers-choke-on-rising-diesel-prices Spain and four other European Union nations have called for a tax on windfall profits of energy companies in response to rising fuel prices due to the Middle East war, Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said Saturday. https://www.thelocal.com/20260404/five-eu-nations-urge-tax-on-energy-firms-windfall-profits Sat, 04 Apr 2026 14:12:23 +0200 five-eu-nations-urge-tax-on-energy-firms-windfall-profits War in the Middle East has caused energy market volatility around the globe, forcing governments in Europe to intervene and keep fuel costs down for consumers. https://www.thelocal.com/20260328/what-are-european-countries-doing-to-keep-fuel-costs-down Sat, 28 Mar 2026 14:13:15 +0100 what-are-european-countries-doing-to-keep-fuel-costs-down EU's energy chief Dan Jorgensen called on member states to help consumers and businesses by lowering taxes on energy where possible, as war in the Middle East saw oil and gas prices surge. https://www.thelocal.com/20260310/eu-countries-urged-to-lower-energy-taxes-to-reduce-consumer-bills Tue, 10 Mar 2026 17:18:48 +0100 eu-countries-urged-to-lower-energy-taxes-to-reduce-consumer-bills Nine European nations including France, Germany, Denmark, Norway and the UK vowed on Monday to build up North Sea offshore wind power with the aim of boosting climate-friendly energy while reducing dependence on foreign powers. https://www.thelocal.com/20260126/france-germany-and-nordic-countries-back-north-sea-wind-power-at-summit Mon, 26 Jan 2026 15:16:09 +0100 france-germany-and-nordic-countries-back-north-sea-wind-power-at-summit A US takeover of a major German operator of fuel storage sites has been approved, Berlin said Friday, despite warnings about the new owner's close links to US President Donald Trump. https://www.thelocal.com/20260124/us-firm-owned-by-trump-donor-buys-german-oil-storage-giant Sat, 24 Jan 2026 14:45:08 +0100 us-firm-owned-by-trump-donor-buys-german-oil-storage-giant The EU said Wednesday it wants to boost energy links between France and Spain as part of a bloc-wide push to secure power supplies, months after a massive outage hit the Iberian Peninsula. https://www.thelocal.com/20251210/eu-seeks-better-spain-france-energy-links-after-blackout Wed, 10 Dec 2025 14:25:53 +0100 eu-seeks-better-spain-france-energy-links-after-blackout Spain's electricity network suffered major voltage fluctuations in the past two weeks, the competition watchdog revealed on Wednesday, raising the spectre of a repeat of April's huge blackout. https://www.thelocal.com/20251009/is-another-major-blackout-on-its-way-to-spain Thu, 09 Oct 2025 10:12:24 +0200 is-another-major-blackout-on-its-way-to-spain Portuguese power network operator REN denied on Tuesday it was behind a message circulated on social media attributing the massive blackout across the Iberian peninsula to a rare atmospheric event. https://www.thelocal.com/20250429/claim-that-spains-blackout-was-caused-by-rare-weather-event-debunked Tue, 29 Apr 2025 14:21:02 +0200 claim-that-spains-blackout-was-caused-by-rare-weather-event-debunked Millions of people were left without power after a massive blackout hit mainland Spain on Monday, bringing transport services and businesses to a halt. https://www.thelocal.com/20250428/in-pictures-nationwide-blackout-causes-chaos-in-spain Mon, 28 Apr 2025 17:59:55 +0200 in-pictures-nationwide-blackout-causes-chaos-in-spain When Sweden's government announced its final plans for financing new nuclear, it had clearly learned some lessons from the criticism the draft proposal received last autumn. But not, perhaps, the right ones, argues The Local's Nordic Editor Richard Orange. https://www.thelocal.com/20250402/ideological-swedens-government-shrugs-off-criticism-of-nuclear-funding-plan Wed, 02 Apr 2025 11:48:54 +0200 ideological-swedens-government-shrugs-off-criticism-of-nuclear-funding-plan