Brussels, 21 April 2026

Note to the attention of Mr Piotr Serafin,

Commissioner “Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration”

Subject: The current energy crisis: the Commission must protect citizens and lead by example

The ongoing war in the Middle East is having extremely serious consequences for the global economy and is fuelling growing concern among European citizens.

As the Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned: “The war in the Middle East is creating a major energy crisis, including the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. In the absence of a swift resolution, the impacts on energy markets and economies are set to become more and more severe.”

Quite apart from the uncertainty surrounding freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, prolonged disruption to energy supplies as a result of the war with Iran must now be considered a real and lasting risk for our economies. The President of the European Central Bank has herself described the possible long-term consequences as “probably beyond what we can imagine at the moment.”

In this regard, the IEA has just issued a report highlighting “10 demand-side options open to households, businesses and governments to shelter themselves from today’s oil shock and relieve the strains on affordability” . (link).

Against this background, significant expectations are now placed on the measures the Commission is expected to present on 23 April with the adoption of the AccelerateEU package.

However, these measures must go beyond merely imposing restrictions, constraints, and demands for sacrifice on EU citizens. If the Commission wants to retain public trust and credibility in a time of crisis, it must also show, through concrete decisions, that protecting living conditions, well-being and public health remains at the heart of European action.

1. The Commission must lead by example

Indeed, the Commission cannot ask citizens and Member States to apply measures that it is unwilling to apply to itself. In this area as in all others, it must lead by example.

That principle must also guide the internal measures adopted within its own administration.

Several of the measures currently under discussion, including those referred to in the Report and, according to a number of press articles, likely to be reflected in the Commission communication on AccelerateEU, are directly relevant to staff and should be acted upon without delay.

In this regard, to respond to the difficulties currently faced by both colleagues and services as a consequence of the crisis, the Alliance proposes, in particular, the application of the following measures:

2. Expand teleworking wherever possible

As the IEA Report rightly recalls: “Working from home can reduce oil consumption from private vehicles used to commute. While not all jobs are suitable for working from home, it can be an effective measure when the job allows for it. Commuting accounts for between 5% and 30% of car activity across countries. Governments can encourage businesses to allow their employees to work from home, and can require public officials to work from home, where possible, and close public buildings on certain days.”

There can be no serious dispute that the overwhelming majority of tasks carried out by staff in the European institutions can be performed remotely. The Covid crisis proved this beyond question: the institutions remained fully operational while staff worked entirely from home.

In the case of our institution, surveys on teleworking and commuting clearly show that teleworking significantly reduced emissions between 2019 and 2024, primarily through a reduction in commuting and other work-related travel.

The conclusion is straightforward. In line with its own recommendations to Member States and in light of its own internal evidence and in the exceptional circumstances we are facing, the Commission should, in accordance with Article 9 of the Decision on Working Time, reduce commuting requirements when setting weekly office presence obligations, including by allowing a higher proportion of telework for staff during the current energy crisis.

3. Allow greater flexibility for teleworking from outside the place of employment

The surveys also show that “the option to telework from outside the place of employment has decreased the number of trips home for 64% of respondents.”

This is particularly important because a significant share of these trips is made by air. Reducing them would therefore make an immediate and meaningful contribution in the context of the current energy crisis.

In this respect, as the report states: “Travel for work accounts for a large share (between 20% and 40%) of aviation activity. In many cases, travel for work can be temporarily substituted by virtual meetings. A reduction of around 40% of flights taken for work purposes is feasible in the short term, while maintaining productivity.”

In these circumstances, the present crisis clearly constitutes an exceptional situation within the meaning of Article 11(2) of the Decision on Working Time and therefore justifies broader recourse to exceptional teleworking outside the place of employment, specifically in order to reduce journeys to colleagues’ country of origin or to where their families live.

This is not a marginal issue. Because of the distance between their place of employment and the place where their families reside, many colleagues travel frequently, sometimes every week, quite often by air, in order to return home or be with their loved ones. A serious energy policy cannot ignore this reality.

4. Further promote the use of public transport and cycling for commuting

In the context of the current crisis, and in line with the Commission’s repeated calls to reduce as far as possible reliance on private transport in favour of greener mobility, the current ceiling for the reimbursement of public transport costs should be increased, while the procedures for obtaining such reimbursement should be simplified accordingly. Likewise, combined use of bicycles and public transport for commuting should be actively encouraged.

5. Protect households on the lowest incomes

The current crisis does not affect everyone equally. Staff on the lowest incomes are hit first and hardest by rising prices, and this reality must be acknowledged openly.

It should be recalled that the Method for adjusting salaries and pensions under the Staff Regulations is designed solely to ensure parallelism with the conditions applicable to civil servants in the central administrations of the Member States. It is not, and has never been, an automatic mechanism for indexation to inflation.

This distinction is essential and must be always clearly underlined. If the Commission has urged Member States to move away from automatic indexation systems because of their inflationary effects, then it must also be clear that the Method cannot be presented as a tool protecting staff against the loss of purchasing power caused by the current crisis.

That is precisely why additional social support measures must be considered for the most vulnerable households.

As the report underlines, governments are encouraged to support low-income households either by lowering their energy costs or by providing targeted financial support. Unlike general subsidies, targeted measures focus assistance where it is genuinely needed and avoid unnecessary public spending.

The same principle should apply within the Commission. The possibility of ad hoc social temporary support measures should therefore be examined for colleagues on the lowest salaries, particularly those belonging to vulnerable households most severely affected by rising prices.

Conclusion

The current energy crisis is not only a test of economic resilience. It is also a test of political coherence, social justice and institutional credibility.

The Commission cannot confine itself to calling on Member States and citizens to act.

It must also be prepared to apply to its own administration the same principles of responsibility, solidarity and realism that it promotes externally.

This means introducing greater flexibility where justified, making full use of teleworking, including outside the place of employment, in order to reduce non-essential travel, promoting as far as possible internal measures to facilitate the use of public transport whenever presence at work is required, and providing concrete support in order to protect colleagues and households on the lowest incomes.

It is on this basis that the Alliance will approach the social dialogue scheduled for 29 April with DG HR.

On that occasion, it is essential that the representatives of DG HR be given a mandate enabling them to reach shared conclusions with the staff representation and to send a clear message of shared responsibility and institutional commitment, not only to staff, but also to external observers.

At a time of crisis, leadership must be demonstrated through action.

The Commission must now show that it is ready not only to make recommendations, but also to assume its responsibilities fully within its own administration, including by recognising internally the added value of the social dialogue that it so rightly calls for at Member State level.

Cristiano SEBASTIANI – Raul TRUJILLO HERRERA

Alliance

Copy:

Mr B. Seibert, Head of Cabinet of the President von der Leyen

Mr Dan Jørgensen, Commissioner Energy and Housing

Mrs. I. Juhansone, Secretary-General

Mr S. Quest, Director-General HR; Mr C. Roques, Deputy Director-General;

Mr C. Linder, Director HR F; Mr L. Duluc, Deputy Head of Unit HR F.4

Commission & Executive Agencies Staff