The European Union's newly announced Energy Commissioner will for the first time have the task of leading an EU housing division as well as dealing with more typical duties, such as seeking to lower fuel prices and implement green policy.

Dan Jorgensen, named on Tuesday by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as part of her new team, is a former EU parliamentarian and a climate leader in his native Denmark, which has a track record of linking energy and energy-efficient housing policy.

As commissioner, his challenges include helping to implement the EU's ambitious Green Deal to try to keep the bloc on track to reduce carbon emissions. He must also deal with the ongoing impact on energy of Russia's war on Ukraine.

Europe's energy prices have normalised since the extremes of the 2021-2022 energy crisis, but they remain high, making the continent increasingly uncompetitive compared with the rest of the world. Germany in particular has suffered from the loss of cheap Russian gas that fuelled its industry.

A lack of grid interconnections in Germany - the EU's biggest economy - also means a lot of cheap renewable energy produced in the north of the country is wasted and cannot boost the south.

A report by former Italian prime minister and former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi presented to von der Leyen last week included warnings about the continent's economic future.

At the level of individual citizens, rather than big business, Jorgensen will have to address that in part as the Commission's first dedicated commissioner for housing, helping to provide sustainable, affordable accommodation and "addressing energy poverty," his mission letter made public on Tuesday says.