As energy bills of households across Europe continue to soar, many national governments have introduced measures to keep the situation (somewhat) under control.
While each country has a different approach to dealing with the crisis – Germany made public transport cheaper, Italy allows its citizens to pay their energy bills in instalments over two years – some announcements focused on what people themselves could do to keep their bills as low as possible.
While two years of ever-changing pandemic rules resulted in most Belgian residents getting used to the Government having a say in their personal lives in ways that are both unexpected (remember when you could only celebrate Christmas in your garden, with maximum four guests?) and ridiculous (and only one of them could use the toilet?), the Dutch Government is now also interfering with its population's bathroom habits.
This time, however, it has nothing to do with Covid-19 and everything with the rising prices: the Netherlands is advising everyone to take shorter showers (maximum five minutes), and to set the thermostat no higher than 19°C to save power.
The advice led to a lot of indignation on social media, particularly because the Government failed to present a concrete gas emergency plan for the long term. In the meantime, Belgium implemented a package of measures to avoid the energy market becoming "the Wild West."
What do you think, is Belgium doing enough? Let @Maajtee know.
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