The European Union has significantly reduced its imports of energy resources from the Russian Federation; however, it still spends about €1.5 billion each month on purchasing Russian fossil fuels. This was stated by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who emphasized that despite the substantial reduction in imports, complete energy independence for Europe from Russia will only be possible after abandoning all energy resources from the aggressor country.
This is reported by Business • Media
Reducing the EU’s dependence on Russian energy resources
Ursula von der Leyen noted that the EU’s previous decision to phase out Russian fossil fuels marked a “new era” for Europe. According to her, the share of Russian gas imports (both liquefied and pipeline) in the EU’s energy supply structure has decreased from 45% to 13%. Coal supplies from Russia have fallen from 51% to zero, and crude oil imports have dropped from 26% to 2%.
“At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the EU was transferring €12 billion to Russia each month for fossil fuels. Now this amount has been reduced to €1.5 billion per month. Our goal is to bring this figure down to zero,” she emphasized.
New rules and future import ban
The European Union has already agreed on a phased approach to phasing out imports of Russian natural gas. This applies to both pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG). The final ban on entering into new long-term contracts for pipeline gas from Russia will come into effect no later than November 1, 2027, while for long-term agreements regarding LNG, it will take effect from January 1, 2027. Additionally, the European Commission plans to legislate an end to the import of Russian oil by the end of 2027.
At the same time, Hungary has expressed disagreement with these decisions. Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stated that the country plans to challenge the RePowerEU proposal, which includes a ban on importing Russian gas, in court.