Europe confronts a significant energy disruption. Oil and gas prices have not climbed to the peaks officials anticipated back in March when the US-Israeli conflict with Iran began.

Yet without an end to the conflict in view, the situation remains unresolved.

Iran's shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz interrupted roughly a fifth of worldwide oil and liquefied gas movements. It continues, as International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol noted in April, as the largest supply interruption in global oil market history.

Currently, oil prices have stabilized near 100 dollars per barrel. Gas prices across Europe sit about 50 percent above pre-conflict levels, though electricity prices, essential to the world economy, remain comparable to last year's figures.

Why? In brief: numerous nations in the global south have reduced oil consumption, some Gulf supplies now reach markets via pipelines through the Arabian desert, and affluent countries, notably China, are rapidly depleting stockpiles.

Still, bank analysts caution that these steady prices may not persist. Similarly, the European Commission warned in May that a negative scenario with oil hitting recessionary levels of 180 dollars per barrel stays possible.

The key question involves how European nations are reacting. Back in March, EUobserver examined emergency steps in the six biggest EU economies.

In a March statement, the commission urged countries to avoid unduly boosting gas and oil demand via broad fuel subsidies. We observed that Spain, Italy and Poland proceeded with such measures, whereas Germany and France showed more caution.

Now the situation has shifted. At next week's gathering of European leaders in Brussels, the energy crisis will receive little attention. Some member states have begun phasing out crisis responses.

Here is the current status of the largest economies.

Germany - untargeted fuel tax reductions and pullback from green measures

Germany's early reaction to the crisis in March was notable for its restraint. No subsidies appeared, only a daily price adjustment rule for fuel stations and stricter competition rules allowing federal intervention against excessive pricing.

This shifted in April when the Bundestag reduced petrol and diesel taxes by 17 cents per litre including VAT until June's end, at an estimated expense of roughly 1.6 billion euros.

The package also permits employers to offer workers a one-time 1,000 euro tax-free payment for living expenses. A Greens proposal to cut the household electricity tax from 2.05 cents to the EU minimum of 0.1 cents per kWh was rejected.

Plans after 30 June when these steps conclude remain uncertain.

Some politicians seek extensions. But transport minister Patrick Schnieder discouraged the notion, informing Handelsblatt at the end of May that the state was reaching its limits on further action.

He also excluded fuel-saving steps such as speed limits or car-free Sundays.

Germany's emergency package offered nothing to speed electrification or decarbonisation.

In certain areas policies support fossil fuels. In May the government dropped plans for a mandatory gas boiler phase-out, allowing households more heating choices but possibly extending gas reliance for years ahead.

Germany - untargeted fuel tax reductions and pullback from green measures

France - targeted support, major wager on electrification