EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday that the bloc is working to decrease energy dependency on Russia following its war on Ukraine.
“We have to get rid of the dependency of Russian gas, oil and coal,” Von der Leyen told a joint news conference with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi in Brussels, adding that the Commission will publish on Tuesday three new proposals in this regard. Russia is one the main EU suppliers of crude oil, natural gas and solid fossil fuels such as coal.
In 2021, the EU imported 155 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia, accounting for around 45% of EU gas imports and close to 40% of its total gas consumption, according to the International Energy Agency. The proposals include the diversification of EU’s energy supply to replace Russian imports with “reliable suppliers” of liquified natural gas (LNG) and pipeline gas, speeding up the bloc’s transition to renewable energy, and providing support for consumers—AFP.
