"In the short term (...) it is possible to increase the level of taxation of this sector and to redirect part of this income towards measures aimed at cushioning the impact of rising prices on consumers", said Mathias Cormann at an economic forum in Madrid.
"This has been done in Italy and Romania" and "we encourage governments to consider (this) seriously", in view of the "benefits" reaped by the major groups in the sector, continued the head of the Organization for Cooperation and of economic development.
Energy prices have increased considerably in recent months, due to strong demand linked to the restart of activity following the Covid-19 epidemic.
This dynamic has greatly accelerated since the outbreak of war in Ukraine on February 24, particularly in the European Union.
Faced with this situation, most European countries have implemented measures intended to reduce the bill for households and businesses.
But these measures have a significant cost for public finances, in countries sometimes weakened by high public debt.
In France, the government has estimated the cost of the measures decided against the rise in prices at 22 billion euros, not counting the discount of 15 euro cents per liter of fuel which will come into force on April 1.
In Spain, the cost of aid for the year 2022 is estimated at between 10 and 12 billion euros.
To finance these measures, several countries, such as Italy, have said they are considering taxing the profits made by producers in the wake of rising prices.
In Spain, the government announced such a measure last fall but finally revised its copy in the face of criticism from the giants of the sector.
Beyond these short-term measures, the Secretary General of the OECD deemed it necessary to "accelerate" efforts to "ensure security of supply" of energy, particularly in the EU, which is very dependent on Russian gas and oil.
"This is clearly a structural problem," he insisted.
The OECD, which brings together all the developed countries, announced at the end of February that it had closed the process of joining Russia and will close its office in Moscow in retaliation for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
© 2022 AFP