Iratxe García calls for a tax on windfall profits in the energy sector to help households pay their bills and daily expenses

The leader of the Socialists and Democrats proposes that revenue from a tax on energy companies finance social assistance for electricity, heating, food, and fuel. The request addressed to the Commission does not specify the amount of support or the eligible beneficiaries; in the European precedent, the contribution only partially financed national support measures.

The president of the Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament, Iratxe García Pérez, asked Ursula von der Leyen to propose a tax on the windfall profits of energy companies, which would finance social assistance for households. In the debate on the state of the Union in Strasbourg, García called for the support to help families pay for electricity and heating, as well as food and fuel.

In brief

1.García proposes that part of the windfall gains of energy companies finance support for households. This is a political request addressed to the Commission, without a new tax being adopted through this intervention.

2.The requested assistance goes beyond paying energy bills and includes everyday expenses such as food and fuel. The speech does not establish amounts, income thresholds, or an award procedure.

3.The EU used a temporary solidarity contribution on profits from 2022 and/or 2023 of certain fossil-fuel sectors. García refers more broadly to energy companies, without defining the sectors or the calculation formula for the new tax.

4.The experience of the European precedent shows both the possibility of collecting revenue for support and the limits of this financing. The current request is not accompanied by an estimate of revenue or the cost of the assistance.

In her intervention, García calls for companies that benefit from energy crises to contribute to protecting families affected by price increases. She describes assistance for the household budget, without limiting it to a reduction on the electricity bill. However, the form of payment and the criteria by which households would be selected remain unspecified.

The group reiterated the request in a statement dedicated to social support, presenting it as a response to the rising cost of living. In parallel, García supports accelerating renewable energy sources and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. She calls for maintaining the European Green Deal and the objective of climate neutrality by 2050, considering clean, secure, and affordable energy a condition for competitiveness.

The proposal brings back into discussion a solution used in the previous energy crisis. Under the mechanism agreed by the Member States in 2022, the solidarity contribution covered oil, natural gas, coal, and refining. The contribution applied to the portion of taxable profit exceeding the reference average increased by 20%, in addition to ordinary taxes. States could use equivalent national measures, and the revenue was intended to support households and companies.

Data collected subsequently show the scale and limitation of this precedent. In its May 2025 report, the Commission recorded revenue of 26.15 billion euros by June 30, 2024, relating to the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years, from the contribution and equivalent measures. The Commission specifies that this revenue could finance only part of the national support measures. The amount is a historical result, not an estimate for the initiative now being requested.

The precedent does not automatically define the future tax. García does not specify whether it would reproduce the sectors, profit threshold, or duration of the former contribution, nor whether the assistance would be administered at European or national level. The speech also does not establish how the portion of profit considered exceptional would be calculated, a choice that would determine which companies pay and on which gains.

For households, the effect would depend on the amount of assistance, access conditions, and timing of payment. In the absence of these elements and a joint estimate of revenue and expenditure, the intervention establishes the desired source of financing and the social purpose, without yet providing an entitlement to support or an awarding timetable.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/news/iratxe-garcia-cere-taxarea-profiturilor-exceptionale-din-energie-pentru-a-ajuta-gospodariile-sa-isi-plateasca-facturile-si-cheltuielile-zilnice