REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL Report on Chapter III of Council Regulation (EU) No 2022/1854 of 6 October 2022 on an emergency intervention to address high energy prices Solidarity contribution and enacted equivalent measures: stocktaking
Date: 2023-11-30
Institutions: Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union, European Commission
Subjects: EU energy policy, coal, crude oil, energy crisis, fossil fuel, natural gas, petroleum product, price increase, price of energy, profit

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 30.11.2023  COM(2023) 768 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL Report on Chapter III of Council Regulation (EU) No 2022/1854 of 6 October 2022 on an emergency intervention to address high energy prices   Solidarity contribution and enacted equivalent measures: stocktaking   
 
 
I. 

Introduction   

This  report  presents  the  findings  of  the  review  of  the  provisions  set  out  in  Chapter  III  of 
Council Regulation (EU) No 2022/1854 of 6 October 20221 on an emergency intervention to 
address  high  energy  prices  (hereinafter,  the  Council  Regulation)  in  view  of  the  general 
situation of the fossil fuel sector and surplus profits generated. The report is presented to the 
Council  by  the  Commission  pursuant  to  its  reporting  obligation  under  Article  20  of  the 
Council Regulation.  

In  particular,  the  report  aims  to  review  the  application  by  Member  States  of  the  solidarity 
contribution  set  by  the  Council  Regulation  or  the  equivalent  national  measures  they  have 
enacted  as  an  alternative.  The  report  does  so  against  the  backdrop  of  developments  in  the 
fossil fuel sector and evolution of profits generated in this sector. It is based on information 
submitted by Member States in accordance with their reporting obligation to the Commission 
under Article 19(4) of the Council Regulation and internal analysis by the Commission.  

II. 

Background  

The Council Regulation was adopted by the Council on 6 October 2022. It entered into force 
on  8  October  2022.  It  was  part  of  the  Commission’s  emergency  intervention  in  Europe's 
energy  markets  to  tackle  dramatic  price  rises  in  the  wake  of  Russia’s  war  of  aggression 
against Ukraine2. Very high prices in electricity markets since September 2021, coupled with 
an increased risk of shortage of Russian gas supply since March 2022 and the exceptionally 
high  temperatures  of  the  summer  months  of  2022  which  had  an  impact  on  the  electricity 
demand, led to an overall negative impact across the Union. Consumers and businesses of all 
Member States were faced with higher energy and electricity prices, while inflation was rising 
and  the  economy  slowing.  The  Council  Regulation  was  of  an  exceptional,  targeted,  and 
temporary  nature  with  a  twofold  objective:  to  intervene  in  the  electricity  market  in  order  to 
reduce electricity demand, and to redistribute the exceptionally high profits of certain actors 
in  the  energy  sector  in  particular  towards  final  customers.  A  recent  Flash  Eurobarometer 
confirms  the  strong  support  among  Europeans  (86%)  for  the  measures  taken  by  the  EU  in 
2022 to  protect  consumers and companies to  limit  the immediate impact  of the volatility of 
energy prices3.  

Building  on  the  actions  set  out  by  the  Commission  in  October  2021  with  the  energy  prices 
toolbox4  as  well  as  the  Communication  in  March  2022  outlining  the  principles  of  the 

1 Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1854 of 6 October 2022 on an emergency intervention to address high energy 
prices, OJ L 61 I , 7.10.2022, p. 1.  
2  Given  the  crisis  in  the  energy  and  electricity  markets  in  2022  which  led  to  the  Council  Regulation,  its 
legislative  genesis  as  an  exceptional  and  temporary  measure  can  be  found  in  article  122(1)  TFEU.  The  latter 
empowers the Council to adopt measures appropriate to the economic situation in a spirit of solidarity. This is in 
particular the case if severe difficulties arise in the supply of certain products, notably in the area of energy. 
3 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_4410.  
4  Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  European  Council,  the  Council,  the 
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Tackling rising energy prices: a 
toolbox for action and support, COM(2021) 660 final. 

1 

 
 
 
REPowerEU plan5 and the subsequent REPowerEU plan6 adopted in May 2022, the Council 
Regulation was – alongside other emergency regulations (e.g. on gas demand reduction7, gas 
storage8,  gas  prices  also  known  as  “market  correction  mechanism”9,  coordination  of  gas 
purchases also known as the “solidarity regulation”10 and on permitting for renewables11) – a 
further step forward to guarantee a coordinated and rapid response to the emergency situation 
the EU was confronted with.  

Chapter  II  of  the  Council  Regulation  provides  for  measures  aimed  at  intervening  in  the 
electricity market. They concern an indicative and a mandatory target for electricity demand 
reduction,  a  temporary  revenue  cap  on  ‘inframarginal’  power  producers  and  support  for 
consumers  through  the  extension  of  the  existing  toolbox.  The  measures  related  to  the 
electricity market in Chapter II are not analysed in this report as they have been reviewed in a 
separate report from the Commission to the Council12. 

III.  Chapter III of the Council Regulation  

Chapter III of the Council Regulation  sets a mandatory temporary solidarity contribution on 
the  surplus  profits  generated  in  the  fiscal  years  2022  and/or  2023,  depending  on  Member 
States’ policy choice, for EU companies and permanent establishments with activities in the 
crude  petroleum,  natural  gas,  coal  and  refinery  sectors  generating  at  least  75  %  of  their 
turnover from economic activities in the field of the extraction, mining, refining of petroleum 
or  manufacturing  of  coke  oven  products.  Member  States  must  have  applied  the  solidarity 
contribution  by  31  December  2022,  unless  they  had  enacted  equivalent  national  measures 
contributing to the affordability of energy by that date. The latter are national measures that 
share  similar  objectives  and  are  subject  to  similar  rules  as  the  solidarity  contribution  that 
generate  comparable  or  higher  proceeds  to  the  estimated  proceeds  from  the  solidarity 
contribution. 

The Council Regulation provides for the base for calculating the solidarity contribution and a 
minimum rate. In particular, only taxable profits generated in 2022 and/or 2023 above a 20 % 
increase of the average taxable profits generated in the four fiscal years starting on or after 1 
January  2018  are  subject  to  the  solidarity  contribution.  The  minimum  rate  determined  by 
Member States must not be below 33%. Both elements ensure that the solidarity contribution 
is proportionate. Furthermore, Chapter III also lists the purposes the proceeds of the solidarity 
contribution must be used for with the aim that the measure reduces and mitigates the harmful 

5  REPowerEU:  Joint  European  Action  for  more  affordable,  secure  and  sustainable  energy,  COM  (2022)  108 
final. 
6 REPowerEU Plan, COM/2022/230 final.  
7 EUR-Lex – 02022R1369-20230401 – EN – EUR-Lex (europa.eu). 
8 EUR-Lex - 02022R1032-20220630 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu). 
9 Publications Office (europa.eu). 
10 EUR-Lex - 32022R2576 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu). 
11https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2577/oj. 
12  Report  of  5  June  2023  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  the  review  of 
emergency interventions to address high energy prices in accordance with Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1854: 
COM_2023_302_1_EN_ACT_part1_v2.pdf (europa.eu).  

2 

 
 
 
effects of the energy crisis for households and companies across the Union whilst protecting 
the internal market and preventing the risk of further fragmentation.  

Chapter  III  of  the  Council  Regulation  will  apply  until  31  December  2023.  This  is  without 
prejudice  to  the  Commission’s  obligation  to  report  to  the  Council  on  the  state  of 
implementation  of  Chapter  III  across  Member  States  again  by  15  October  2024.  This  is 
explained  by  the  fact  that  Member  States  could  apply  the  solidarity  contribution  or  their 
enacted equivalent national measures also in the fiscal year 2023 and proceeds will continue 
to be generated from such measures.  

IV.  General situation of fossil fuel sector  

This section presents developments in the fossil fuel sector since the adoption of the Council 
Regulation.  As  further  explained  in  section  6.3  of  this  report,  these  developments  have  had 
substantial  implications  for  Member  States’  budgets.  Chapter  III  of  the  Council  Regulation 
laying  down  an  obligation  for  Member  States  to  apply  the  solidarity  contribution  or 
alternatively enact equivalent national measures has helped Member States to foot part of the 
financial  burden  related  to  the  cost  of  energy  measures  in  support  of  households  and 
businesses.  

The  upswing  in  energy  prices  presented  a  unique  and  favourable  business  environment  for 
fossil fuel companies despite the prevailing uncertainty. As a result, the energy crisis of 2022 
offered  a  perfect  backdrop  for  the  creation  of  windfall  profits  across  the  entire  value  chain, 
significantly outperforming the market conditions of the pre-crisis era. Some businesses were 
better  placed  than  others  to  leverage  on  their  hedging  and  long-term  contracts  strategy  to 
secure favourable terms  amidst  the volatility. However, with  the gradual  decrease in  energy 
prices throughout 2023 (that remain above historical levels), the environment for generating 
windfall profits has tempered compared to the extraordinary conditions of the previous year 
2022  as  the  companies  have  to  compose  with  a  more  uncertain  economic  environment  and 
rising capital costs. 

Table  1:  average  prices  pre-crisis  2018-2021,  2022,  and  2023  (until  November)  (sources:  European 
Commission,  DG  ENER  Chief  Economist,  based  on  S&P  Global  Commodities,  VaasaETT,  Weekly  Oil 
Bulletin) 

Average 
Gas Wholesale 
EUR/MWh 
Gas Retail EUR/MWh 
Coal EUR/ton 
Oil EUR/barrel 
Diesel EUR/L 

Pre-crisis (2018-2021) 

23 

69 
70 
54 
1.29 

2022 

123 

137 
283 
97 
1.83 

2023 (until November13) 

41 

116 
122 
77 
1.68 

13 As of data available on 14 November 2023.  

3 

 
 
 
 
 
Natural gas 

The  measures  adopted  in  2022  have  eased  the  pressure  on  the  energy  markets  and  thus 
reduced natural gas prices, which ranged between EUR 40/MWh and EUR 50 MWh in early 
autumn  2023  down  from  above  EUR  200/MWh  over  the  summer  2022  and  around  20 
EUR/MWh  before  the  crisis14.  However,  prices  remain  volatile  and  higher  than  historical 
averages.  Moreover,  there  remain  a  number  of  risks  which,  if  they  materialised  would 
considerably  worsen  the  situation.  These  include  a  rebound  in  Asian  liquified  natural  gas 
(LNG)  demand  that  reduces  the  availability  of  gas  on  the  global  gas  market,15  extreme 
weather  conditions  potentially  affecting  hydropower  storage  or  nuclear  production16  which 
would require higher recourse to gas-fired power generation, and further possible gas supply 
disruptions, including a complete halt of gas imports from Russia or a disruption of existing 
critical  gas  infrastructure.  The  ongoing  crisis  in  the  Middle  East  constitutes  an  additional 
significant geopolitical risk with potential impact on prices and gas supply.    

The EU remains more resilient and better prepared ahead of the winter 2023 to minimise price 
volatility thanks to the continued large inflow of LNG (LNG imports went up by 98% when 
comparing June 2023 to June 2021), the record high level of storage filling (the 90% storage 
filling annual target was reached in mid-August way-ahead the November deadline), the gas 
demand reduction effort (-17% for the period August 2022 to July 2023, thus above the 15% 
target)  and  the  accelerated  deployment  of  renewables  (estimated  +41  GW  of  solar  and  +15 
GW of wind installed in 2022 saving around 11bcm of gas demand annually). 

Encouraged  by  the  unprecedented  EU  response,  the  EU  has  partially  compensated  for  the 
missing  Russian  gas  volumes  with  EU  dependency  on  Russian  gas  falling  to  15%  in  2023 
from  45%  in  2021  thanks  to  a  rise  in  LNG  imports  and  pipeline  flows  from  more  reliable 
international partners.  

Crude oil and refined oil products 

Global  crude  oil  prices  have  recently  decreased  to  below  85  USD/barrel17  on  overall 
improvement of market fundamentals pointing to less tightness in the market. This is partially 
compensated by the risk premium in the market linked to recent Middle East events that could 
affect further supply. Oil prices had increased reacting to the crisis in the Middle East and on 
the extension until the end of the year of voluntary cuts announced by OPEC+ in early April 

14 Source: S&P Global Commodity Insights.  
15  IEA  noted  that  “Global  gas demand  is  expected  to  return  to  moderate growth  in  2024,  primarily  driven  by 
Asia Pacific and the Middle East” and that the Asian-Pacific demand is expected “to expand by 20% by 2026 
compared with 2022”, see Medium-Term Gas Report 2023. 
16  Domestic  shortfalls  in  hydro  and  nuclear  power,  due  to  climatic  conditions  and  other  availability  factors, 
exacerbated the stress on gas market pushing prices further up in summer 2022. The production gap in hydro and 
nuclear generation in 2022 was approximately 60 TWh and 120 TWh, respectively, compared with 2021. 
17 Brent oil prices as of 15 November according to S&P Global Commodity Insights. 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
and June 202318 (the move by OPEC+ was an attempt to redress the plummeting oil prices’ 
trend: below 75 USD/barrel in June 2023 from around 100 USD/barrel in October 2022 and 
around 60 USD/barrel in the first half of 2021). The decreasing trend has been supported by 
Western  sanctions  and  price  caps  on  Russian  oil19  as  well  as  concerns  about  the  global 
macroeconomic  outlook,  especially  following  recent  economic  weakness  in  China  and 
tightening  global  monetary  policies.  Nudged  by  the  EU  embargo  on  Russian  oil,  the  EU 
managed to diversify away from its Russian oil dependency. 

As regards refined oil products, after a steep decrease until the beginning of the summer 2023 
with diesel prices at 1.55 EUR/L in June 2023 from above 2 EUR/L the previous year20, oil 
products  prices  are  bouncing  back  recently  (diesel  at  1.75  EUR/L  early-November21) 
mirroring  latest  months  crude  oil  prices  rises  and  sustained  by  strong  demand  leading  to 
higher  refining  margins  for  European  refiners  recently.  Diesel  had  price  spikes  in  June  and 
October  2022  (going  above  2  EUR/L)  due  to  the  fact  that  central  and  Eastern  Europe  was 
until  then supplied predominantly by Russian diesel,  which took some time to  replace from 
other sources.  

The global economic outlook, potential extension of OPEC+ cuts, tensions following Russia’s 
war  against  Ukraine  and  the  conflict  in  the  Middle  East,  as  well  as  the  speed  of  China’s 
recovery  would  be  four  main  drivers  affecting  global  oil  demand,  supply,  and  prices  in  the 
remaining of 2023 and foreseeable future. 

Coal 

After  peaking  above  400  EUR/ton  in  summer  2022  from  pre-crisis  prices  at  around  50 
EU/ton,  coal  prices  have  been  continuously  falling  to  stabilise  at  around  100  EUR/ton  in 
summer 2023. The EU embargo on Russian coal introduced in the fifth sanctions package22 
has allowed Europe to completely diversify away from Russian coal by securing alternatives 
from more reliable partners, thus helping to stabilise prices.  

V. 

Overview of the application by Member States of Chapter III of the Council 
Regulation  

Article  14  of  the  Council  Regulation  gave  Member  States  the  possibility  of  applying  the 
solidarity contribution or enacting equivalent national measures. According to Article 14(3), 
Member States had to adopt and publish measures to ensure the application of the solidarity 
contribution  by  31  December  2022.  For  those  Member  States  that  wished  to  apply  national 

18 OPEC+ 1.66 million barrels per day (mbpd) voluntary cut announced in early April and additional 1 mbpd cut 
for July (and later extended to end of 2023) announced by Saudi Arabia on 4 June. Russia also announced a cut 
of oil exports by 0.3mbpd in September (later extended to the end of 2023). 
19  5  December  2022  marked  the  entry  into  force  of  the  EU  embargo  on  Russian  seaborne  crude  oil  and  G7+ 
coalition  60  USD/barrel  price  cap  on  Russian  oil  (the  price  cap  will  allow  European  operators  to  transport 
Russian  oil  to  third  countries,  provided  its  price  remains  strictly  below  the  cap)  -  EUR-Lex  -  02014R0833-
20230624 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu). 
20 Source: European Commission Weekly Oil Bulletin.  
21 Source: European Commission Weekly Oil Bulletin (6 November). 
22 EUR-Lex - 02014R0833-20230624 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu). 

5 

 
 
 
measures as an alternative, the ultimate deadline for such a measure to qualify as an enacted 
equivalent national measure was also set at 31 December 2022 by the Council Regulation. 

By the cut-off date for this report of 12 September 2023, all Member States have reported to 
the Commission in line with their obligations under Article 19(4) of the Council Regulation 
on the introduction of the solidarity contribution or on applicable enacted equivalent national 
measures,  on  the  amendments  to  their  national  legal  framework  to  this  end,  on  the  total 
estimated proceeds of them, and also on the proceeds they have collected so far in 2023.  

Of  the  27  Member  States  who  have  reported  to  the  Commission,  15  apply  the  solidarity 
contribution  (AT,  BG,  DE,  DK,  EL,  FI,  FR,  HR,  IE,  LT,  NL,  PL,  RO,  SI,  SK),  while  8 
Member States (BE, CZ, EE, ES, HU, IT, PT, SE) have opted for the adoption or application 
of enacted  equivalent  national  measures as  explicitly  allowed by the Council Regulation.  In 
addition,  3  out  of  27  Member  States  (LU,  LV,  MT)  reported  they  have  no  companies  or 
permanent  establishments  in  scope  of  the  Council  Regulation  to  which  the  solidarity 
contribution could apply. Following engagement with the Commission services those Member 
States have not adopted any application measures. Some other Member States that expected 
few  or  no  companies  or  permanent  establishments  to  be  in  scope  (FI,  HR,  SI)  do  apply  the 
Council Regulation  and  have  adopted  application measures  but  expect to  generate only  few 
proceeds. Finally, 1 Member State (CY) is still in the process of adopting measures.  

Graph  2:  overview  of  the  application  by  Member  States  of  Chapter  III  of  the  Council  Regulation  (source: 
European Commission, DG TAXUD)  

Overview of the application by Member States of 
Chapter III of the Council Regulation 

s
e
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a
t
S

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e
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e
M

f
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e
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15

8

20

15

10

5

0

3

1

Solidarity
contribution

Enacted equivalent
national measure

No companies/PE
in scope

Under adoption

Solidarity contribution

Enacted equivalent national measure

No companies/PE in scope

Under adoption

Within the group of Member States which have enacted an equivalent national measure, 6 out 
of  8  Member  States  have  reported  such  measures  are  inspired  by  other  already  existing 
national measures applicable to other economic sectors in their jurisdiction, such as banking 
(CZ), food and retail (PT), or national frameworks applicable to oil sellers and other activities 
within the energy sector (BE, EE, HU, CZ). IT applied a pre-existing national measure in the 
fiscal  year  2022  and  amended  it  in  view  of  the  requirements  of  the  Council  Regulation  for 
2023. SE took inspiration from the solidarity contribution. 

5.1 Member States applying the solidarity contribution 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
With respect  to  the calculation  of the solidarity  contribution,  the Council Regulation  allows 
Member States to make some choices. Those concern, for example the fiscal year for which 
the measure applies and the rate applied to the base. Regarding the chosen fiscal year to apply 
the solidarity contribution, out  of the 15 Member States,  6 of them have  opted to  apply  the 
solidarity  contribution  to  both  the  fiscal  years  2022  and  2023  (AT,  BG, DE,  IE,  RO,  SI).  6 
Member States have reported they apply it only to the fiscal year 2022 (EL, FR, NL, HR, PL, 
SK). 3 Member States reported they apply it only to the fiscal year 2023 (DK, FI, LT). With 
respect to the applicable rate, 10 Member States apply the minimum rate of 33% (BG, DE, 
DK,  EL,  FI,  FR,  HR,  LT,  NL,  PL)  while  5  Member  States  apply  rates  that  are  higher.  In 
particular, the following  higher  rates have been  reported: 40% (AT),  55% (SK),  60% (RO), 
75% (IE), and 80% (SI).  

5.2 Member States applying enacted equivalent national measures 

As regards the base used by Member States applying enacted equivalent national measures4 
Member States out of 8 use taxable profits as the base (CZ, IT PT, SE), while 4 other Member 
States have opted for a different base. For the latter group of Member States the picture looks 
as follows: 1 Member State (BE) uses the processed tonnes of crude oil for refineries as base; 
1 Member State (EE) uses the value created by the mineral resource subject to the charge; 1 
Member State (ES) uses the net turnover; 1 Member State (HU) has introduced two separate 
measures to which it applies different bases, namely a modified corporate income tax base for 
an income tax on energy suppliers, and a world market price difference of crude oil from the 
Russian Federation and the quantity of crude oil from the Russian Federation purchased in the 
relevant month, measured in barrels.    

Regarding applicable rates for enacted equivalent measures put in place by Member States, 2 
Member States have applied the minimum tax rate set out by the Council Regulation of 33% 
(PT, SE). Higher rates include a rate of 50% by 1 Member State (IT), 60% by 1 Member State 
(CZ). One Member State applies a rate of 1,2% on a turnover base (ES). One other Member 
State (HU) has set a range that varies over time: the rate for the first measure is set at 31% for 
2022 and 41% for 2023, and for the second measure the rate is 40% until 9 December 2022 
and 95% from 10 December 2022. Finally, 2 Member States have set variable rates: 6.9 per 
tonne of crude oil processed (BE), or a rate to be fixed quarterly (EE) depending on minimum 
and maximum percentages, which are set per ton of the energy mineral resource. 

As regards the applicable fiscal year, the Member States concerned apply their measures also 
in different fiscal years. In particular, 4 Member States apply their enacted equivalent national 
measures to the fiscal years 2022 and 2023 (BE, PT, HU, ES). One Member State applies it to 
the  fiscal  year  2022  (EE),  and  2  Member  States  apply  their  enacted  equivalent  national 
measures  to  the  fiscal  year  2023  (IT23,  SE).  One  Member  State  applies  its  measure  to  the 
fiscal years 2022-2025 (CZ). 

23 Italy reported it collected 2.897 bn euro in 2022 for its preceding national measure as explained in Section V.   

7 

 
 
 
VI. 

Estimated and collected proceeds and their use under Chapter III of the Council 
Regulation  

6.1. Reported estimated proceeds 

As  part  of  the  Commission’s  monitoring  of  the  application  of  Chapter  III  of  the  Council 
Regulation, Member States reported first provisional estimated proceeds in March 2023. For 
the purposes of this report, 12 Member States (BE, BG, DE, FR, EL, ES, HU, IE, IT, RO, SI, 
SK)  provided  their  updated  estimated  proceeds  during  summer  2023  for  the  fiscal  year 
202224. The figure of estimated proceeds for the fiscal year 2022 (as of 12 September 2023) is 
EUR 17,574 million.  

Table 2: Overview of estimated proceeds (in million EUR) as of 12 September 2023 as reported by Member States to the 
Commission for the fiscal year 2022. 

The  figures  for  the  fiscal  year  2022  show  that  even  though  most  of  the  Member  States 
reported less estimated proceeds (as of 12 September 2023) compared to March 2023, there is 

24 The Netherlands and Estonia confirmed their original figure of estimated proceeds for the purposes of this 
report. Poland reported a figure of estimated proceeds for the first time.  

8 

Provisional estimated proceeds (in million EUR)  as at 24 March 2023 as reported by Member States to the Commission (High point)Difference between the two reported figures (in million EUR)Year YearYear202220222022Netherlands6,4336,4330Poland3,230N/A3,230Italy2,8972,547350Spain1,089.341,245-156Germany1,0001,500-500Romania640.78783.4-143Greece63055674Slovakia520521-1Hungary446476.5-31Belgium289300-11Ireland167240-73France100404-304Estonia87.587.50Bulgaria43.344.8-2Slovenia0.90.0480.852AustriaN/A100-100CroatiaN/AN/AN/ACyprusN/AN/AN/ACzechiaN/AN/AN/ADenmarkN/AN/AN/AFinlandN/AN/AN/ALatviaN/AN/AN/ALithuaniaN/AN/AN/ALuxembourgN/AN/AN/AMaltaN/AN/AN/APortugalN/A82-82Sweden N/AN/AN/ATotal17,57415,3202,254Estimated total  proceeds (in million EUR) as at 12 September 2023 as reported by Member States to the CommissionCountry 
 
 
 
an increase of EUR 2,254 million in the overall estimated proceeds mainly due to the fact that 
Poland now provided figures. 

It is also important to note with respect to the figures in Table 2 that there are a few Member 
States such as Latvia, Luxembourg, or Malta reporting to have no companies in scope. Other 
Member States like Finland and Croatia reported to the Commission that they expect to derive 
no  or  little  revenue.  In  addition,  there  are  Member  States  that  will  only  apply  the  Council 
Regulation  for  the  fiscal  year  2023  (Czechia,  Cyprus,  Denmark,  Italy,  Lithuania).  Other 
Member  States  such  as  Portugal  only  starts  collecting  proceeds  in  Autumn  2023.  Finally, 
Austria  did  not  provide  updated  estimated  proceeds  for  the  fiscal  year  2022  as  of  12 
September  2023  while  they  did  provide  provisional  estimated  proceeds  previously.  Sweden 
did  not  provide  any  estimated  figure  of  proceeds.  Hence,  no  estimated  proceeds  for  those 
Member States are reflected in the Table 2 above. They are marked with N/A.  

6.2. Reported collected proceeds  

For the purpose of this report, Member States were also asked by the Commission  to report, 
where already possible  for those applying the measure in  fiscal  year 2022, on any collected 
proceeds  of  measures  under  Chapter  III  of  the  Council  Regulation.  On  30  June  2023, 
collected  proceeds  for  the  fiscal  year  2022  under  Chapter  III  of  the  Council  Regulation 
amounted to EUR 6,850 million.  

Table 3: Collected proceeds (in million EUR) as of 30 June 2023, as reported by Member States to the Commission for the 
fiscal year 2022 

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Year 2022Italy2,897Poland1,430Spain1,089.34Hungary446Belgium289Slovakia260Ireland167Estonia81Austria79.2France67Bulgaria43.3Slovenia0.737CroatiaN/ACyprusN/ACzechiaN/ADenmarkN/AFinlandN/ALatviaN/ALithuaniaN/ALuxembourgN/AMaltaN/APortugalN/ARomaniaN/ASweden N/AGermany0Greece0Netherlands0Total 6,850Collected proceeds (in million EUR) as at 30 June 2023 as reported by Member States to the CommissionCountry 
 
 
Going forward, the Commission will continue to engage regularly with Member States to get 
a  good  overall  view  of  the  amount  of  estimated  proceeds  and  collected  proceeds  generated 
under  Chapter  III  of  the  Council  Regulation  for  the  full  fiscal  year  2022.  The  Commission 
will also engage in same exercise for the fiscal year 2023 regarding those Member States that 
apply  the  solidarity  contribution  or  an  enacted  equivalent  national  measure  for  both  fiscal 
years  or  only  in  the  fiscal  year  2023.  This  will  allow  the  Commission  to  properly  fulfil  its 
reporting obligation to the Council under Article 20(2) of the Council Regulation in autumn 
2024.  

6.3. Use of proceeds  

Member  States  are  required  to  report  also  on  the  use  of  proceeds  from  the  solidarity 
contribution or the enacted equivalent measures. Article 17 of the Council Regulation sets out 
the spending purposes for which those proceeds can be used in line with the objective of the 
Council  Regulation  of  reducing  the  burden  of  the  rising  energy  prices  on  final  energy 
customers. 

Based on the reporting submitted by Member States for the purposes of this report, many of 
the  measures  ensuring  the  application  of  the  solidarity  contribution  or  enacted  equivalent 
national measures contain no explicit reference to the use of the proceeds. This is in line with 
the  fact  that  some  Member  States  have  general  national  budgetary  frameworks  in  place 
governing the spending  of any kind  of measures they apply  (principle of universality  of the 
budget).  Member  States  are  invited  to  continue  reporting  to  the  Commission  on  this  matter 
with a view to ensure that the proceeds generated under the Council Regulation are used for 
the purposes established by it.  

For those Member States applying the solidarity contribution, 7 Member States out of 15 do 
not  make  any  express  reference  in  their  reporting  to  the  Commission  on  the  spending 
purposes provided for by Article 17 of the Council Regulation (AT, BG, FI, FR, HR, NL, SI). 
7  of  them  make  an  express  reference  to  the  requirements  of  Article  17  of  the  Council 
Regulation (DK, DE, EL, IE, PL, RO, SK), with a preference for offering financial support to 
consumers and households. 1 Member State has reported the creation of a fund to collect the 
proceeds  of  the  solidarity  contribution,  to  be  destined  to  provide  financial  support  to 
households (LT). 

For Member States applying enacted equivalent national measures, 2 Member States out of 8 
have listed an identical use of the proceeds to those listed in Article 17 (ES, PT). 2 Member 
States have mentioned using the proceeds to support households and companies (BE, EE), and 
1  Member  State  more  generally  referred  to  mitigating  high  energy  prices  (CZ).  1  Member 
State  has  reported  on  the  creation  of  a  fund  to  collect  the  proceeds  of  the  solidarity 
contribution,  to  be  destined  to  provide  financial  support  to  households  (HU).  One  Member 
State  (SE)  clarifies  in  its  reporting  that  although  tax  income  cannot  be  allocated  under  the 
national  budget  law,  the  intention  is  however  to  compensate  households  and  companies  for 
the  high  energy  bills  with  a  total  amount  that  is  estimated  to  exceed  the  revenues  from  the 
temporary  measure  on  extraordinary  profits.  One  Member  State  (IT)  did  not  make  any 
reference in its reporting to the requirements of Article 17 of Council Regulation. 

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 The  contribution  laid  down  in  Chapter  III  of  the  Council  Regulation  did  not  aim  at  fully 
financing  the  fiscal  cost  of  the  various  domestic  policy  measures  alleviating  the  effect  of 
soaring  energy  prices.  The  Commission  has  assessed  the  impact  of  the  cost  of  energy 
measures  from  a  budgetary  perspective  at  the  occasion  of  its  Autumn  2022  Economic 
Forecast (see Box I.2.4 Fiscal policy measures to mitigate the impact of high energy prices)25. 
According to the forecast, Member States have adopted measures with a net cost of close to 
EUR 200 billion. The net budgetary cost of energy measures for 2023 was forecast at around 
EUR  144  billion.  The  figures  on  projected  costs  are  much  higher  than  the  estimated  total 
proceeds as reported by Member States to the Commission  for the solidarity contribution or 
equivalent  national  measures  (see  section  6.1),  implying  that  the  latter  could  only  partially 
finance the projected expenditure. 

Going  forward,  the  Commission  will  continue  to  closely  monitor  the  use  of  the  proceeds 
generated under the Council Regulation in order to ensure compliance with Article 17 of the 
same Regulation. 

VII.  Conclusions  

Against the backdrop of the evolutions in energy markets, this report provides an overview of 
the  state  of  play  of  the  application  of  Chapter  III  of  the  Council  Regulation  (EU)  no 
2022/1854 a year after its entry into force. In particular, the report sheds light on market and 
profit developments in the fossil energy sector but also on the application of measures under 
this Council Regulation. In particular, it focusses on (i) the type of measures implemented by 
Member  States,  faced  with  the  choice  of  implementing  the  solidarity  contribution  or  an 
enacted equivalent national measure; (ii) the specificities of each measure with regard to the 
applicable  fiscal  year(s),  base,  applicable  rate  and  use  of  the  collected  proceeds;  (iii)  the 
estimated total proceeds reported by Member States, and (iv) collected proceeds by Member 
States who could report on such collection by 30 June 2023.  

A  glance  at  the  developments  in  the  fossil  energy  markets  shows  that  the  situation  is  very 
different  than  it  was  when  the  Council  Regulation  entered  into  force  in  October  2022.  The 
decrease in energy prices throughout 2023 and a more uncertain economic environment and 
rising capital costs have led companies in oil, gas, and coal sectors to see a decrease of their 
profits as compared to the extraordinary surplus profits of 2022. 

The  picture  that  emerges  from  the  analysis  of  data  reported  to  the  Commission  by  Member 
States  on  the  application  of  Chapter  III  of  the  Council  Regulation  shows  that  a  majority  of 
Member States have opted for applying the solidarity contribution.  However, it is also clear 
that Member States have made use of the flexibility which the legal act offers when it comes 
to the applicable fiscal years and rate. Moreover, amongst Member States who have opted to 
enact an equivalent national measure as an alternative for the solidarity contribution, there are 
differences with regards to the applicable fiscal year, the applicable rate, and the taxable base.  

25 https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-02/ip187_en.pdf  

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With  regard  to  the  collected  proceeds  of  the  measures  under  Chapter  III  of  the  Council 
Regulation,  the reporting by Member States shows that not  all Member  States have applied 
the  solidarity  contribution  or  enacted  equivalent  national  measures  to  the  fiscal  year  2022. 
That fact, coupled with the different collection dates throughout Member States explains why 
the reported collected amounts by 30 June 2023 are still far from the estimated total collected 
proceeds. 

Furthermore, Member States are invited to continue reporting on the use they intend to make 
of the proceeds generated by the measures under Chapter III of the Council Regulation. Going 
forward  it  is  important  that  such  data  are  shared  with  the  Commission,  including  sufficient 
details regarding the different use of the share of proceeds. Those Member States which have 
reported data on the use of proceeds are in line with the spending purposes listed in Article 17 
of  the  Council  Regulation,  notably  to  reduce  the  burden  of  the  rising  energy  prices  on 
consumers.  

The  Commission  will  submit  a  second  report  to  the  Council  by  mid-October  2024,  with  a 
second  analysis  of  the  application  of  Chapter  III  of  Council  Regulation  in  compliance  with 
Article 20(2) of said Regulation.  

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