The EU has set out on an ambitious path to cut energy dependence on Russia, but the plan has its own worrying pitfalls.
Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) Over two years into the pandemic, citizens of Europe face an uncertain future. A new recession looms, now alongside the threat of stagflation. Spiraling energy prices have turned into a dire cost-of-living crisis for many households. They are told that next winter, there might not be enough gas to go around, and that electricity could be rationed. Meanwhile, the climate crisis is coming to a head, and a global food security crisis has already been declared. In the background, Ukraine’s terrible agony drags on.
Against this backdrop, Europeans have been dismayed to realize that the European Union not only imported over 90 percent of its gas but that Vladimir Putin’s Russia provided more than two-fifths of it. In March, the European Commission further disclosed that Russia accounted for 27 percent of the EU’s oil imports and 46 percent of its coal imports.
At a March 10-11 meeting of European heads of government, the Commission was invited to elaborate on an action plan to ensure affordable energy prices during the next winter season. Shortly after, Russia began cutting off gas to European countries that failed to comply with President Putin’s demand to pay for them in rubles. Preventing the Kremlin from using energy supplies as an instrument of blackmail became the EU’s priority
On this topic MEP Siegfried Mureşan stated:
“The REPowerEU Plan will help us ensure affordable energy prices for our people and our companies. It will enable us to secure our energy supply and move away from dependency on Russian fossil fuels. In order for REPowerEU to generate real EU-added value, Member States should allocate at least 30% of the REPowerEU resources to cross-border projects. This is a major success of the EPP Group which has been at the forefront of this initiative.
Transparency and involvement of relevant stakeholders are key to the ownership and success of the REPowerEU Plan. This is why we made sure that the Member States would involve regional and local authorities in the design of the chapters. Mayors and Local authorities know best the needs of the people in their communities. In addition, Member States will be obliged to publicly disclose information on the largest beneficiaries of the Recovery and Resilience Funds. I call now on the Member States to put forward the REPowerEU chapters by 30 April. We have no time to lose in deploying projects and reforms that will enable us to cut all ties with Russian fossil fuels and to secure our energy independence.”
