It would be a historic mistake to open up to Russian gas once the war in Ukraine ends. This is what the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a speech in the European Parliament.
With this, von der Leyen is warning those EU countries that dream of being able to buy cheap Russian energy again if Ukraine and Russia succeed in making peace.
- We must make it very clear that the era in which Europe is dominated by Russian fossil fuels has now come to an end, says von der Leyen.
Roadmap for phase-out ready
The speech comes the day after EU Commissioner for Energy Dan Jørgensen presented a roadmap for phasing out Russian energy. The cornerstone of the roadmap is a ban on imports of Russian gas. Initially, the EU Commission is proposing a ban on new short-term contracts by the end of 2025.
This will be followed by a ban on long-term contracts by the end of 2027. This will affect major pro-Ukraine and gas-importing countries such as Germany, Spain and Belgium. But Hungary and Slovakia, which take a friendlier line towards Russia, will also be affected.
However, the EU Commission is preparing to put heavy pressure on EU countries to take action. The Commission will present concrete legislative proposals next month for gas as well as Russian oil and nuclear energy, which will also be phased out in the long term. At the same time, the Commission will require EU countries to draw up national plans for the phasing out of Russian energy by the end of this year.
- We need a decisive effort to completely phase out Russian fossil energy, says von der Leyen.
Large drop in gas purchases
When Russia invaded Ukraine, EU countries continued to buy Russian energy for almost 90 billion DKK per month. According to von der Leyen, that figure has now fallen to around 13 billion DKK per month.
Despite the large drop, EU countries have spent more money on buying Russian energy during the war than on supporting Ukraine, Dan Jørgensen emphasized on Tuesday when he presented the plan for the phasing out of Russian energy.
But according to von der Leyen, the problem is not only that EU countries are thereby helping to finance Russia's war in Ukraine. After the war, EU countries should also remember that Russia has used energy dependence to put pressure on European countries, she says:
- Russia has proven time and again that it is not a trustworthy energy supplier. Putin has cut off supplies to Europe several times. This happened in 2006, 2009, 2014, 2021 and throughout the war in Ukraine. How many times will it take before we learn the lesson? Dependence on Russia is not only bad for our security, but also for our economy, says von der Leyen.
/ritzau/
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