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After three years of war in Ukraine, the numbers are disheartening from both European and Ukrainian perspectives.
Since Russia’s invasion, EU countries have collectively spent more money on purchasing fossil fuels like oil, coal, and gas from Russia than they have on economic support for Ukraine.
“This obviously cannot continue. We are indirectly helping to fill Putin’s war chest,” says EU Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen.
The situation underscores that the EU must do more to become free of Russian energy, says the Danish EU Commissioner in an interview with the European Newsroom, a European cooperation between news agencies of which Ritzau is a part.
“On one hand, you can say we have delivered quite a bit, and we have had some success. We have gone from 45 percent of our gas in 2022 coming from Russia to now only 13 percent coming from Russia.
On the other hand, during this period in Europe we have spent more money on buying Russian fossil fuels and energy than we have given Ukraine in aid and support,” says Dan Jørgensen.
The independent research organization Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea) has calculated that the EU’s 27 member states have collectively purchased Russian fossil fuels, including oil, coal, and gas, for more than 205 billion euros since Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022.
According to the latest figures from the EU Commission, the EU has collectively supported Ukraine with 138.2 billion euros during the same period. Of this, according to the EU Commission, 1.5 billion euros come from revenues from Russian assets that have been seized.
This corresponds in Danish kroner to the EU countries having bought Russian energy for approximately 1527 billion kroner.
Conversely, the EU has “only” provided economic support to Ukraine for about 1030 billion kroner.
It is especially France, Hungary, Belgium, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic that continue to import Russian energy, according to figures from Crea. However, part of the Russian energy imported to France is sent on to Germany, according to Crea.
Dan Jørgensen has his own way of summing up European energy purchases in Russia during the war:
“Put another way: We have spent an amount equivalent to buying 2,400 new F-35 fighter jets,” says Dan Jørgensen.
The Danish EU Commissioner had announced a roadmap to free the EU from Russian energy within the first 100 days of the new EU Commission taking office on December 1.
However, it has not been successful. The plan has now been delayed twice, but it is coming within “a few weeks,” says Dan Jørgensen.
Question: You say we are indirectly helping to fill Putin’s war chest. Why has the plan to free the EU from Russian energy been delayed?
“The plan has been delayed, but the effort has not. We work every day to become free of Russian energy, but it is complicated. If it had been easy, we would have done it three years ago,” says Dan Jørgensen.
The delay of the plan has occurred at a time when the U.S. President, Donald Trump, is pushing hard to establish a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.
Dan Jørgensen, however, denies that the EU Commission has delayed the launch of the plan to avoid disrupting peace negotiations.
“No,” is Dan Jørgensen’s short response to the question of whether the peace negotiations are the reason for the delay.
“One of the many aspects we need to consider is that it should be done in a way that does not harm our citizens and businesses,” says Dan Jørgensen.
He indirectly refers to the fact that the EU countries, which are particularly dependent on Russian energy, must have the opportunity to find alternatives to avoid large price increases.