EU hesitates to sanction Russian gas as imports continue

This article was originally published in English

Despite the huge drop in supply Since the Kremlin launched its all-out war against Ukraine in 2022, the EU remains dependent on Russia for almost a fifth of its gas supplies. Although European Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson was reticent when asked if the bloc was willing to include it in a sanctions regime increasingly wider.

“We continue fully committed to completing the phase-out of Russian gas“which can be done without jeopardising the security of Europe’s energy supply,” Simson told reporters in Brussels as he presented the EU’s annual State of the Energy Union report.

It acknowledges that although Russian gas consumption has fallen dramatically from 150 billion cubic meters, or 45% of all imports before the invasion, the country is still depended on Russia for 18% of imports in the eight months to August. This is slightly more than the total imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US, meaning that Russia remains Europe’s second-largest supplier after Norway.

Asked whether the Commission planned to impose sanctions on Russian natural gas imports, especially now that trans-Ukrainian transfers are set to cease at the end of the year, in any case when a transit agreement expires, Simson said: Russia had already lost any leverage it once had over the EU by controlling its largest gas supplies.

“The volumes that some companies continue to receive from Russia no longer allow them to blackmail us: there are alternatives available,” Simson said, noting that European gas storages were already full long before the start of winter.

The EU executive has been preparing for when the transit agreement between Russia expires at the end of the year Gazprom and Ukraine, he explained. “We have found alternative supply routes, and the Member States or their companies that continue to receive gas from Russia [han tenido] two years more compared to other companies to which Russia decided to cut off supplies… in 2022.”

The Commission was determined to ensure that Russian gas stopped arriving via Ukraine – depriving Kiev of transit fees – was not simply re-routed via other routes. “This is a work in progress,” Simson said, again without specifying whether sanctions were imminent.

“My main mission is to encourage companies that continue to receive Russian gas by pipeline… to opt for more predictable alternatives,” the commissioner said.

Simson acknowledged, however, that companies can continue to import legally from Russia as long as there are no sanctions. He urged governments to “make good use of the tools” agreed during a recent review of gas market rules that allow them to unilaterally ban Russian LNG imports, whichwhich no EU member has yet implemented.

A “boost” for renewables

The report presented today has been produced annually since 2015 and takes its name from the Energy Union initiative launched a year earlier by Donald Tusk, now Poland’s prime minister. It was created to respond to energy security concerns raised by Moscow’s previous moves to eradicate the global economy.exert political pressure on Ukraine and Europe by strangling gas supplies.

Simson points in particular to the need for accelerate the deployment of wind turbines, Solar panels and other renewable energy infrastructure if the EU is to meet its 2030 target of 42.5% green energy. Both sources overtook fossil fuels in the bloc’s electricity generation mix last year.

France is the only EU country that has not yet met its 20% renewable energy target by 2020, and the Commission is “in dialogue” with Paris on this issue, Simson said, declining to specify whether a formal infringement procedure was being considered. More generally, the Estonian politician said the EU executive supported Greater use of power purchase agreements and “contracts for difference” supported by the State to further accelerate the transition, as recommended this week in the Draghi report on European competitiveness.

“This report is a clear message to the Commission and the EU States: It’s time to get serious about implementation“said Luke Haywood, head of climate and energy policy at the European Environment Bureau, an umbrella group for NGOs. “The new mandate should include task forces to assess progress on energy savings, renewables and electrification.”