EU flags fly in front of the Berlaymont building, headquarters of the European Commission, in Brussels. Europe’s energy crisis is as much a test of institutional trust as of supply, and Brussels will need transparency as well as new infrastructure to pass it. (Shutterstock/Mounir Taha)

Why Europe’s Energy Emergency Is Also a Crisis of Trust

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Soaring fuel prices expose Europe’s infrastructure failures, and transparency scandals in Brussels are making it harder for the EU to win public trust in its response.

US President Donald Trump recently announced an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin for Russia to “immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace, another 500,000 Tons during the month of November, and 1,000,000 Tons immediately thereafter.” This modest arrangement may hinder Russia–Ukraine peace efforts, but its timing is no accident. On the day the agreement was announced, the average US retail diesel fuel price was reported at $6.28 per gallon, and midterm elections fall on November 3. 

Europe’s predicament is worse. On October 5, the European Union weighted average cost of a liter of gasoline was reported at €2.006 ($8.52 per gallon), while a liter of diesel was €2.149 ($9.13 per gallon). Russia’s war against Ukraineand the US-Iran war are the principal culprits: sanctions on Russia and Iran, along with Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the Houthi blockade of the Red Sea, drive up fuel prices. Ukrainian strikes have severely disrupted Russia’s refining industry, at times knocking more than half its........

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