Fiscal and structural resilience building responses to inflation during the 2022-23 energy crisis: a comparative analysis of the approach of the EU and three European countries

Between 2022 and 2023, Europe experienced an inflationary crisis driven by gas supply disruptions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and compounded by postCOVID pandemic supply chain shocks. To support traditional monetary policy tools in combatting inflation, Member States of the European Union deployed a range of so-called ‘unconventional’ fiscal policies aimed at protecting consumers from the increase in energy prices and limiting the pass-through of inflation to the wider economy. These fiscal policy measures were accompanied by a set of structural resilience building measures aimed at addressing the supply disruption in gas markets by improving the EU’s capacity to act in cases of extreme shortages and reducing the risk of future supply shocks.