08 May 2025, 14:27
The European Commission’s statement notes that despite the significant progress achieved under the REPowerEU Plan launched in 2022 and through sanctions imposed following russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there was a renewed increase in russian gas imports to the EU in 2024. This has created a need for more coordinated action, as the EU’s excessive dependence on russian energy imports poses a threat to European security, the statement reads (https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_1131).
The EC's President Ursula von der Leyen said: «The war in Ukraine has starkly exposed the risks of blackmail, economic pressure, and price shocks. With REPowerEU, we have diversified our energy supply and sharply reduced Europe’s former dependence on russian fossil fuels. Now is the time for Europe to completely sever its energy ties with an unreliable supplier. The energy resources that reach our continent must not finance the war against Ukraine.»
The roadmap REPowerEU, presented by the European Commission, outlines the gradual and coordinated phase-out of russian oil, gas, and nuclear energy from EU markets. Starting in 2025, a sharp increase in global supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is expected, while gas demand is projected to decline. Through the full implementation of the energy transition policy framework and the Action Plan for Affordable Energy, the EU aims to replace up to 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas by 2030, with a projected demand reduction of 40–50 billion cubic meters by 2027. At the same time, LNG import capacity is expected to increase by approximately 200 billion cubic meters by 2028 — five times the current volume of russian gas imported into the EU.
According to the REPowerEU roadmap presented this week, the European Commission is expected to develop legislative proposals. All measures will be accompanied by continuous efforts aimed at accelerating the energy transition and diversifying energy supplies, including through the aggregation of gas demand and better use of infrastructure, in order to eliminate risks to supply security and market stability.
The upcoming proposals by the European Commission are expected to enhance transparency, monitoring, and tracking of russian gas on EU markets. Importantly, new contracts with suppliers of russian gas—both pipeline and LNG—will be prohibited, and existing spot contracts will be terminated by the end of 2025. This measure will ensure that by the end of this year, the EU will reduce the remaining supplies of russian gas by one third.
Under the REPowerEU Roadmap, the European Commission will also propose new actions to address the issue of russia’s shadow fleet transporting oil. Regarding nuclear energy, the proposals that the Commission is set to present next month will include measures targeting the import of enriched uranium from russia, as well as restrictions on new uranium supply contracts signed by the Euratom Supply Agency.
The measures taken under the plan have already allowed for a significant reduction in the volume of imported russian gas, from 150 billion cubic meters in 2021 to 52 billion cubic meters in 2024. The share of russian gas imports has dropped from 45% to 19%. All imports of russian coal have been sanctioned, and oil imports have decreased from 27% at the start of 2022 to 3% currently. In the nuclear energy sector, EU member states still using russian-designed reactors have made progress in replacing russian nuclear fuel with fuel from other producers.
With the gradual phase-out of russian energy, the REPowerEU Roadmap will reduce the security risks faced by the European Union. It will also support the implementation of the economic plan outlined in the Competitiveness Compass, the Clean Industry Agreement, and the Affordable Energy Action Plan. These emphasize that a cleaner and energy-independent system will not only boost the economy but also make a significant contribution to achieving Europe’s decarbonization goals.