As war in Iran roils energy markets, Europe pays price of ‘dependency’

2026.03.19 12:50 A man refuels his car in a petrol station in Villeneuve d’Ascq, north France, on March 11. Photo: Xinhua Europe woke on Thursday to another energy shock, as military attacks on critical infrastructure in Qatar and Iran sent oil and gas prices across the continent soaring to levels unseen since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The continent’s benchmark natural gas price, the Dutch TTF, climbed above €70 (US$80) per megawatt hour in Thursday morning trading – its highest level since December 2022, though still well below the more than €300 peak reached in the summer of 2022. Brent crude surged to over US$114 per barrel, rising by more than 50 per cent since the US and Israel first attacked Iran in late February. Jet fuel prices in Europe have already surpassed their peak during the Russia-Ukraine war. From Brussels to national capitals, including Paris, governments were scheduling crisis meetings on Thursday as politicians scrambled to respond. “Prices went way beyond what we thought and I can give you my mea culpa … there is a real difficulty with diesel,” French Energy Minister Maud Bregeon told France’s BFMTV on Thursday. “For 90 per cent of the diesel fuel we consume in France, the refining was done outside the European Union … we are paying the price for our dependency,” she said. At the beginning of March, Bregeon had told the same programme that prices would rise by “several cents” in the short term. But average diesel prices in France have gone up by more than 30 cents since the Iran war broke out – from €1.72 per litre to almost €2.1. Across Europe, people on the ground are feeling the impact, especially those working in the transport sector. Remi Elite, a taxi driver in the southern French city of Bordeaux, saw his fuel costs increase by €250 in just three weeks, forcing him to reduce his working hours. “Some rides became non-profitable, so we are forced to refuse our clients because otherwise we will be clearly driving at a loss. There

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