The decision to say goodbye to Russian gas from 1 January 2028 will "define" the European continent. This is what Climate and Energy Minister Lars Aagaard (M) says, after the EU countries backed the decision at a ministerial meeting in Luxembourg on Monday. The agreement must now be negotiated with the EU Parliament before it is final.
- For too long we have been too dependent on one supplier. A supplier who has used the dependence as a weapon and who has increased people's energy bills, says Lars Aagaard.
He expects to be able to gather the necessary support in the EU Parliament so that the decision can come into force from 1 January 2026, when Denmark hands over the presidency of the EU to Cyprus. This sends a clear signal to Russia, Ukraine and the USA, says Lars Aagaard.
- I hope that other countries that continue to import Russian gas and oil will make plans to phase it out, says Lars Aagaard.
Two countries were against
Hungary and Slovakia were the only ones of the 27 EU countries to vote against the decision. But since it could be taken by qualified majority, the two countries did not have the opportunity to block it.
EU Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen praises the Danish EU presidency for reaching the agreement. He promises help to EU countries that are concerned about their energy supply. But he also calls on countries to now free themselves from Russia:
- Other countries have also had challenges in saying goodbye to Russian energy, but they have been much faster to react, says Dan Jørgensen.
Like Lars Aagaard, he describes the decision as unique because it is very far-reaching in its attempt to both hit Russia's economy and change the energy supply in Europe.
- We are sending a very clear signal that we will not allow energy to be used as a weapon against us.
- We will no longer be dependent on energy from an aggressor. And we will no longer indirectly finance Putin's war against Ukraine, says Dan Jørgensen.
Lars Aagaard acknowledges that the decision will mean that Europe will import gas from other countries for a period of time. This goes against the desire to say goodbye to fossil energy:
- This is not the end of our work. We must now work on increased electrification because we have industries in Europe that are too dependent on fossil energy.
- Today's decision is a farewell to Russian energy. But it is not the end of our work to restructure the energy supply, says Lars Aagaard.
/ritzau/
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