In brief

• The EU says it has paid an extra €127 billion for imported oil and gas since the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed.
• The estimate rose from €24 billion in April to more than €100 billion by late September.
• Officials say the bloc received no additional energy volume in return for the extra spending.

Rising bill for the same energy

She made the point at the WinWin Brussels Summit, stressing that this money bought no additional fuel volume (The Strait of Hormuz closure has cost Europe an extra $142 billion for the same energy it was already buying – Fortune).

How the estimate grew

The figure has climbed quickly. By late September, energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen said the total had passed €100 billion and that the EU had not received a single additional unit of gas or oil.

Comparison of EU cost estimates

• April: €24 billion
• Late September: more than €100 billion
• Early November: €127 billion (Von der Leyen: 'La chiusura di Hormuz è costata all'Ue 127 miliardi in più' – ANSA)

Dependence on imports

Von der Leyen argued that importing fossil fuels exposes Europe to the shocks that come with them. The problem builds on the 2022 supply crisis, when Russia cut gas flows to the EU and member states paid record prices to refill storage. Between the invasion and 2025, Russia's portion of EU gas imports dropped from roughly 45% to about 13%, leaving the bloc more dependent on other suppliers when the Hormuz disruption hit.

What comes next

The Commission has not, in the reporting available, set out new measures tied to this specific cost figure, and the sources do not detail how the bill is expected to develop in coming weeks.