Have the article read by OpenAI (Beta). Please note that AI translations may take some time to process.For decades, energy imported from Russia was everywhere across Europe: from heating flats in Slovakia to powering German industry. Voices who warned that this dependency on oil, gas and coal from one supplier could be risky were in a minority.
A first blow to that energy honeymoon came with Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, but the dangers of that situation only became clear to most Europeans with the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since then, the European Union has struggled to wean itself from its dependency from Russian fossil fuels – and to overcome internal obstruction from some of its member states towards this policy.
When the full-scale invasion began, the Union sanctioned Russia and took steps to reduce imports of coal and oil. Now gas has come into the focus. As more Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) becomes available globally, the EU plans to replace natural gas from Russia with LNG – if possible from other sources than the Kremlin.
Earlier this week, the EU Commission presented its REPower EU Roadmap. It foresees a “coordinated and stepwise phase-out of Russian energy supplies” by 2027.
“With REPowerEU, we have diversified our energy supply and drastically reduced Europe’s former dependency on Russian fossil fuels. It is now time for Europe to completely cut off its energy ties with an unreliable supplier.”
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
A secondary aim of the plan is to strengthen the bloc’s pivot towards renewables. “We do this to preserve our security. But it is also an important step towards becoming energy independent. Producing our own clean affordable energy instead of importing expensive fossil fuels,” Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said.
But achieving these goals may be easier said than done.
From Moscow with a big price tag
According to the Commission, Russian gas imports dropped from a share of 45 percent in 2021 to 19 percent in 2024. Gas imports via pipeline have fallen sharply, but several EU countries have increased LNG purchases.
LNG is transported via sea, unloaded at ports, regasified, and then injected into the European network.
There is a total ban on coal imports. Oil imports from Russia amount to 3 percent of the total, from 27 percent in early 2022.
Yet – according to estimates by the Kpler data consultancy, Russian gas accounted for 9 percent of EU consumption from January to April 2025. It remains among the top three suppliers for gas in total with Norway and Algeria.
And the Ember global energy think tank said imports rose in 2024 year-on-year by 18 percent, mainly due to increased imports into Czechia, Italy and France.
According to Czech analyst Jiří Tyleček, the increase in Russian gas imports underlines the persistent problems in European energy security. “Business is very pragmatic and importers do not care too much whether or not taking Russian gas is politically problematic. Importers are economically rational, and unless there are legal obstacles, such as an embargo, then they focus on importing cheaper Russian gas. This approach is supported by growing demand in Europe,” Tylecek said.
The Roadmap ahead
The Commission now wants to end all Russian gas imports by the end of 2027. To that end, it plans to present legislation next month. Oil and nuclear fuel are also being targeted. Russia is a major supplier of uranium. Additionally, several EU members operate Russian-built reactors.
“We don’t want to be under the control of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” Jørgensen said after setting out the measures.
“We know that he will weaponise energy if he feels that it’s in his interest.”
Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen
The Commissioner noted that the bloc had spent more buying fossil fuels from Russia than on aid to Ukraine since 2022.
The legislation will have to be approved by the EU Parliament as well the member states. The Commission does not need all 27 member states to approve the import bans, which require only the backing from a weighted majority of 15 countries.
Hungary and Slovakia, who entertain close ties with Moscow, have already blasted the plans. “I refuse to commit economic suicide; it is simply economic suicide to proceed with the idea that neither gas, nor nuclear, nor oil, everything must end just because a new iron curtain is being erected between the Western world and possibly the Russian Federation and other countries,” Slovak Premier Robert Fico said, while stressing that he recognised the goal of reducing energy dependence.
Jørgensen said the Commission was willing to go it without unanimity. But even if resistance from Hungary or Slovakia is almost a given, headwinds may also come from other quarters, as a number of member states rely on energy from Russia.
From East to West, and across the Atlantic
Countries such as Slovakia or Hungary remain dependent on Russian fossil fuels – importing 80 percent of their oil from Moscow for example. They are exempt from the sanctions package on oil. At the end of 2024, Austria also got about 80 percent of its gas from Russia. Deliveries stopped only when the transit deal between Moscow and Kyiv ended later that year.
The Commission will also have to manage the increased dependence of some countries on Russian LNG imports: according to the International Energy Agency, three countries – Belgium, France, and Spain – accounted for 85 percent of total Russian LNG imports, with a portion being re-exported to the continent.
The bloc’s economic heavyweights France and Germany have a big stake in the shift away from Russian energy.
Before Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Germany imported 55 percent of its gas from Russia. Since then, the country has been working on diversifying its energy imports and constructing LNG terminals. Since Russia closed the Nord Stream 1 Pipeline in 2022, Germany imports its natural gas from Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands. Germany gets LNG from other EU members, who in turn import some of it from Russia.
France would face a heavy impact from any move away from Russian LNG as it has five terminals for its delivery in Europe. France increased its Russian LNG imports by 81 percent between 2023 and 2024, giving Russia 2.68 billion Euro in income, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
In Spain, as of March, Russia was the third largest supplier of natural gas, with 13.2 percent in the first quarter of the year, behind Algeria and the United States, both with around 32 percent for the period.
The government said these LNG imports stemmed from “private contracts” where it cannot intervene, but stressed that it wanted to increase imports from other sources. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said in Kyiv in February that both the government and Spanish society had the “political will” to find suppliers other than Russia.
Czechia’s struggles exemplify the energy dilemma. While the country is independent from Russian oil for the first time due to the completion of the TAL pipeline as of April, it still imports Russian gas, albeit indirectly.
In 2023 it declared total independence from Russian natural gas and cut its imports to almost zero. Now it is importing at least some Russian fuel via Slovakia, grid data show.
The flows highlight the challenge some nations face in curbing their reliance on Russian fuel, even as they oppose the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine. Slovakia and Austria have been importing large amounts of Russian gas, while the Czech Republic and Italy receive it indirectly from their neighbours.
Bulgaria is exploring a range of options to diversify its energy supplies – from oil and gas exploration in the Black Sea, to cooperating with its neighbours Greece and Türkiye on gas interconnectors, LNG terminals or gas transmission projects, as well as working on increasing its share in renewable energy generation.
The candidate country North Macedonia imports natural gas from Russia through a single-entry point at the border with Bulgaria. As part of diversification plans, a contract was recently signed on the construction of a gas interconnector with Greece, which is to boost integration into the European energy market.
One country that weaned itself off Russian gas is Croatia. It completed the construction of a floating LNG terminal on the island of Krk in January 2021. This move diversified its gas supply and stopped being dependent on imports from Russia. Today, Croatia imports liquefied gas mostly from the United States, followed by Nigeria, Qatar and Egypt. The terminal not only meets Croatia’s gas needs, but can also supply its neighbours.
With plans to expand the hub and upgrade gas pipelines, Croatia wants to turn itself into a regional energy hub.
Opening the door for more LNG supplies from the US could also help Brussels to ease trade tensions with US President Donald Trump. With 45 percent in 2024, the US is already the EU’s largest supplier of LNG, followed by Russia (20 percent). Trump in April advanced the figure of 350 billion dollar (309 billion Euro) in additional energy purchases.
The Commission said it aims to rely on suppliers ranging from the US, to Norway, Qatar or North African nations. At the same time it needs to keep an eye on consumers.
Rising energy prices remain a politically sensitive topic and the Commission will have to navigate the spectre of another gas price surge like in 2022 if it wants to pull off the plans laid out in the Roadmap.
This article is published twice a week. The content is based on news by agencies participating in the enr.