During a plenary session in Strasbourg on Thursday, 18 January, MEPs adopted (with 383 votes in favour, 99 against, and 71 abstentions) the own-initiative report by Alice Kuhnke (Greens/EFA, Swedish) on the gender aspects of the rising cost of living and the impact of the energy crisis. The motion for a European Parliament resolution highlights the specific challenges that women encounter in this difficult economic context.
Before the vote, Alice Kuhnke opened the debate—which took place on Wednesday, 17 January—by highlighting the challenges posed by energy poverty in the EU, particularly for women. Her speech addressed the complex links among poverty, populism, and extremism—making poverty a significant threat to democracy. “Across the continent, millions of EU citizens are struggling to make ends meet and having to choose between heating or eating,” she declared, emphasising the increased vulnerability of women in these circumstances.
Ms Kuhnke also criticised Europe’s continued dependence on fossil fuels and the volatile energy market, calling for urgent action to be taken to protect the most vulnerable groups. Her speech also highlighted the lack of a gender perspective in current policies, calling out the European Commission for failing to include gender impact assessments in the ‘Green Deal’ and energy policies. She insisted, “Intersecting data and a gender-responsive approach must be a pillar in EU policymaking” to ensure a fair and inclusive transition.
European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit also took the floor to remind [MEPs] that these crises have a disproportionate impact on women, particularly “single mothers” and elderly women. He acknowledged that differences in income and living conditions between men and women exacerbate energy poverty, reinforcing Ms Kuhnke’s call to action.
As for Isabella Adinolfi (EPP, Italian), she urgently revisited an alarming reality: “Last year, more than 41 million people went through winter without adequate heating”. She called for “urgent reform of the energy market”, stressing the importance of fair access to energy, in response to concerns expressed earlier.
Lina Gálvez Muñoz (S&D, Spanish), who expanded the subject by mentioning that economic phenomena have an unequal impact depending on gender, thus denounced women’s limited access to secure jobs and [referenced] their additional caregiving responsibilities—factors that reduce their economic opportunities. Similarly, Sandra Pereira (The Left, Portuguese) revisited the disproportionate burden borne by women in terms of “lower salaries” and “reproductive rights”, a direct echo of previously made points.
Barry Andrews (Renew Europe, Irish) followed, reinforcing the idea that precarity has a “female face”, particularly in Ireland. He echoed previous calls for EU action to address these disparities.
Ciarán Cuffe (Greens/EFA, Irish) revisited the situation in Dublin, where “two thirds of [the energy poor] seeking help [...] are female”. His speech emphasised the need to increase support for these vulnerable groups, in line with points raised earlier.
Margarita de la Pisa Carrión (ECR, Spanish) offered a critical perspective, questioning the EU’s management of the crisis and calling for greater “energy sovereignty” for Member States. Her speech brought an additional dimension to the debate, highlighting the different approaches to the crisis. Maria Veronica Rossi (ID, Italian) warned against using the crisis to promote “ideological remarks on gender”, while recognising the need for concrete measures to combat energy poverty.
Read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/agj (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)