energy
EU wants to significantly reduce Russian gas imports
Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, wants the EU to become more energy independent. Photo: Julien Warnand/EPA / POOL/AP/dpa
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More than 40 percent of the gas imported into the EU comes from Russia. In view of the Russian war, the EU wants to become more independent in supply – and presents a plan with measures.
Because of the serious tensions with Russia, the EU wants to become independent of Russian gas as quickly as possible. On Tuesday, the EU Commission presented a plan with measures to reduce Russian gas imports by two-thirds within a year.
It is therefore a question of accelerating the expansion of renewable energies, developing new sources for gas supplies and reducing energy consumption. “It’s time we addressed our vulnerabilities and quickly became more independent in our energy choices,” said EU Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans. The war in Ukraine shows how urgent it is to switch to renewable energies.
More than 40 percent of the gas imported into the EU comes from Russia; Germany in particular is dependent on Russian imports. According to estimates by the Commission, the EU could do without Russian gas altogether well before 2030.
However, it is feared that Russia could stop gas deliveries on its own in the short term. On Monday, Moscow openly threatened for the first time that it would stop supplying gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in the Baltic Sea. The EU Commission again stressed that the EU is on the safe side for the rest of this winter, even in the event of a Russian gas supply freeze. All regions have access to more than one gas source and are therefore more resilient. In the coming winter, however, the situation would be different.