The top leaders of the European Union member states have approved a package of measures to deal with the immediate effects of the spike in energy prices, the European Council  (EU) said. In the conclusions of the two-day European Union summit on Friday, the leaders called for medium and long-term measures that would contribute to affordable energy prices for households and companies, according to reports.

The leaders appealed to the member states to "urgently make the best use of the toolbox to provide short-term relief to the most vulnerable consumers and to support European companies", especially those struggling to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. They said that the European Investment Bank should "look into how to speed up investment in the energy transition". The summit participants also discussed the pandemic and the vaccination rates across Europe. They noted the key progress made in the fight against the pandemic but voiced concern that the situation in certain countries remains "very serious".

"In light of the development of the epidemiological situation, the EU called for further coordination to facilitate free movement within, and travel into, the EU," and encouraged the European Commission to "speed up its work regarding mutual recognition of certificates with third countries," they added.

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