Why Strategic Autonomy and Decarbonisation Must Reinforce Each Other

Geopolitical instability has returned energy security to the centre of European economic policy.The ongoing disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is confronting the European Union with renewed exposure to global fossil fuel supply and price shocks, especially in oil and liquefied natural gas markets.The crisis shows once again that fossil fuel dependence is not a source of security, but a strategic vulnerability.The central lesson is not that Europe must slow down the green transition in order to secure energy supply.On the contrary: the faster Europe reduces its dependence on imported fossil fuels, the less vulnerable it becomes to geopolitical blackmail, military escalation, price volatility and infrastructure disruptions.Strategic autonomy and decarbonisation are mutually reinforcing pillars of a modern European energy strategy.The key policy challenge is to bridge short-term crisis management with long-term structural redesign.Rather than responding to fossil fuel insecurity with new fossil lock-ins, Europe should use the current crisis to accelerate the clean energy transition.