The European Commission has published a “roadmap” outlining plans to end Europe’s Russian reliance on energy in the coming years.
Under the plan, imports of all Russian gas and liquefied natural gas into European Union member states will be banned by the end of 2027.
“Russia will not allow us any more energy to be weaponized… we cannot help indirectly fill it. [Kremlin’s] War Chest,” Energy European Commission Chairman Dan Jorgensen said at a press conference held in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
In response to the plan, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters on Tuesday: “Europe is ‘stitching’.
The EU vowed to end energy ties with Russia after Moscow began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
According to the European Commission, a series of legislative proposals will be submitted to all EU member states to implement a “national plan” to phase out Russian gas, nuclear fuel and oil imports.
EU countries must submit strategies under plans to replace Russian oil imports by the end of 2027.
Countries are also asked to outline strategies to end their dependence on Russia on uranium, enriched uranium and other nuclear material.
The EU “hopes to move away from Russia’s gas by increasing energy efficiency, accelerating the deployment of renewable energy and diversifying supply,” the European Commission said.
Russia’s EU reliance on oil, gas and nuclear fuel has declined significantly since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, but the bloc still imports a significant amount of energy from Russia.
According to the report, EU gas imports from Russia have fallen from 45% in 2021 to 19% in 2024.
The proportion of Russian oil imports has also shrunk from 27% at the beginning of 2022 to 3%.
Work needs to be done to reduce the bloc’s reliance on nuclear supplies, products and services in Russia, said more than 14% of EU uranium sourced from Russia in 2024.
The EU’s reliance on Russia’s gas, oil and nuclear fuel poses “risks to our economic security” and financially supports Russia’s war economy, the report says.
“We’ve come far, but not enough,” Jorgensen added at a press conference on Tuesday, adding that measures to phase out Russia’s energy will be “phased and progressive” and therefore will minimize their impact on the EU.
The roadmap also includes plans to target the use of Russia’s “shadow fleet” – oil tankers” with obscure ownership and insurance that Russia uses to maintain its oil exports and bypass sanctions.
