The EU announced a $221 billion package to “untie” Russian oil and gas

“We are taking our ambition to another level to ensure our fossil fuel independence Russia as quickly as possible,” – CNN quoted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at a press conference on May 18 presenting the “REPowerEU” plan.

Since Russia launched its campaign in Ukraine at the end of February, the EU has sought to reduce its dependence on Russian energy. The bloc agreed to ban Russian coal starting in August and last month cut its share of Russian gas imports from 40% last year to 26%.

The new plan goes even further, to rapidly increase imports of liquefied natural gas from the United States and Canada, and to increase the flow of gas pipelines from Norway.

The European Commission has also established a platform to allow countries to jointly buy energy, with the aim of helping to reduce selling prices.

The EU plan also highlights energy-saving tactics as the “fastest and cheapest way” to solve the crisis. Europe will encourage people and businesses to cut energy use – like turning off lights and using less air conditioning – and believes the move could reduce its demand for oil and gas by 5%. block in the short term.

In the longer term, the European Union will raise the target of at least 40% of its energy from renewable sources to 45%. The bloc plans to significantly cut permitting times for new renewable energy projects.

The package will “accelerate” the block’s transition to renewables, Ms. Von der Leyen said, and includes a plan to double the bloc’s solar capacity by 2025. produced gas could replace the annual consumption of 9 billion cubic meters of gas by 2027, the Commission said in a press release.

The bulk of the 210 billion euros ($221 billion) in new investment between now and 2027 will be financed through solicitation from the EU’s COVID-19 recovery fund.

Parts of the EU’s Russian energy exit plan are proposals for legislation that need to be approved by EU member states while the rest are recommendations.

In addition to the coal ban, EU countries are pushing for the ban Russian oil embargo. The European Commission says more time is needed for landlocked countries heavily dependent on Russian oil to find alternative sources.

So far, Hungary – which imported about 40% of Russian oil last year, according to the International Energy Agency – has not been able to support the embargo.

Several EU countries have rapidly cut energy imports from Russia in recent weeks. Germany, Europe’s largest economy, which is particularly dependent on Russian gas, has been trying to reduce its share of Russia’s imports from 55% to 35% since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Economy Minister Robert Habeck announced. believe last month.

The urgency to get rid of Russian energy increased in April when the country cut off supplies to Poland and Bulgaria due to refusal to pay by ruble.

The Finnish state gas company Gasum, which also refused to pay in rubles, said on May 18 that Russian gas supplies could be cut off by the end of this week.

The EU plan published on May 18 also outlines how the bloc will react if Russia completely shuts down its valves for gas exports to the EU. The commission said it would work with member states to understand where gas demand could be cut and which countries could cut consumption for the benefit of others.

“Untie Europe Leaving the block’s largest energy supplier will be difficult. But the economic benefits of ending our dependence will far outweigh the short-term costs of REPowerEU,” said Kadri Simson, European commissioner for energy.