OREANDA-NEWS   Almost 10% of the EU population - 42 million people - do not have enough money to pay their electricity bills. This was announced by the deputy head of the European Commission, Teresa Ribera, at the Delphic Forum, and her speech was broadcast by the EC press service.

"Energy poverty is our reality. Currently, 42 million EU residents cannot pay their electricity bills," she said.

Ribera reiterated her call for increased investment in alternative energy to combat the EU's energy crisis, which, she said, "has already acquired a social dimension in Europe."

Earlier, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, called for a number of targeted measures to support EU countries in times of crisis, but stressed that they should not buy "a single molecule" of LNG from Russia.