EU Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen is aiming to close an agreement on the permanent phasing out of Russian fossil energy during the Danish EU presidency. He said this on his way to an informal meeting of energy ministers in Copenhagen on Friday.
- I hope that we reach an agreement where all countries are on board. But I am of course fully aware that there are some countries that have concerns, says Dan Jørgensen.
The announcement comes after Austria recently made itself the spokesman for the EU to resume purchases of Russian gas if Russia enters into a peace agreement with Ukraine.
Like Hungary and Slovakia, Austria has no coastline on the sea. Therefore, the country is among the EU's most dependent on Russian gas transported via pipelines, while other countries such as Germany can more easily have gas shipped in. However, the EU Commission will ensure that no EU country is left without alternatives when phasing out Russian fossil energy, says Dan Jørgensen.
- It is my task to help those countries so that we do not risk a situation where their security of energy supply is threatened. I am sure that this can be successful, says Dan Jørgensen.
Part of that energy must come from the USA. Here, as part of the trade agreement with US President Donald Trump, the EU has committed to buying American energy for a staggering 750 billion dollars over three years. This corresponds to almost 4,800 billion kroner.
Should it not be possible to get the skeptical countries on board, the EU can still decide to say goodbye to Russian oil and gas. The decision must be taken by qualified majority, emphasizes Dan Jørgensen.
- It will be a very strong signal to Russia if the EU stands completely together on this. But having said that, this legislation should not be adopted unanimously. I am sure that the Danish EU Presidency will do what they can to find a solution within the next few months. It is extremely important that it goes quickly, because we want it to come into force from 1 January, says Dan Jørgensen.
The EU Commission has specifically proposed to require all EU countries to stop using Russian gas from so-called short contracts from 1 January 2026. The EU Commission is also proposing that EU countries exit their long-term contracts for Russian gas by the end of 2027. This means that a ban on Russian gas could come into force on 1 January 2028.
In June, the EU Commission stated that EU countries are still buying Russian gas for close to two billion euros per month. This corresponds to around 15 billion kroner per month. Or almost 180 billion kroner per year. Money that Russia can use to finance the war in Ukraine.
/ritzau/
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