The EU plan to reduce dependence on Russian gas imports with more renewables, LNG (liquefied natural gas) and greater energy savings, is ready. This was stated by Frans Timmermans, EU vice president and commissioner for the European green deal. It will be presented on Wednesday 18 May and will follow the path already taken with the Next Generation Eu. The package to accelerate the farewell to supplies from Moscow should be worth around 200 billion.
Russian gas: the EU plan is ready, here's how it will be
“We have to reduce Russian gas imports. We can do it – explains the Eurocommissioner interviewed by Radio24 – when we already have contracts with other countries on LNG, but we must also save on energy and introduce renewables with greater urgency. On this last front we need to go faster. This would be the solution: alternatives to imports from other countries, save on energy and accelerate on renewables. We will present proposals on Wednesday, this proposal is called RePower EU. For us it is very important to move forward with speed”.
The Next Generation Eu already allocates at least 37% of the resources defined by the national recovery and resilience plans (Pnrr) to a powerful push towards the ecological transition. And yet “I believe that the acceleration we need – specifies Timmermans – will require further investments. This involves all the players in the European economy, the EU budget, but national budgets and private finance”, investors and businesses “are clearly ready to step forward and specific EU funds are adequate”. However, if a further financial effort were required, Timmermans does not rule out the possibility of repeating the experience of the Next Generation Eu: "If we need further means - he added - there will be a discussion at European Council level and I have the impression that the member states are open because after Covid we saw a common approach in the EU and I do not exclude that we will be able to repeat this experience".
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Russian gas: no to payment in rubles, the solution
The question of paying for gas imported from Russia in rubles remains open. The payment in rubles was requested by Putin to circumvent European sanctions after the invasion of Ukraine but the EU vetoed it. The next payments are this week, so here is the ploy found at European level to save the contracts of states and companies.
"I think we have clarified the issue in the last few days", said the EU vice president, recalling that payments in rubles "involve a clear violation of the sanctions and we have given an explanation of how companies and member states can act". Opening bank accounts at Gazprom Bank to pay in euros “is not a violation, but the account can be used to circumvent the sanctions, so we must ensure that the sanctions are not circumvented and this we can do with the instructions and explanations we have provided. I think we have now clarified the matter and I hope that companies will be able to work without problems,” he said.
Oil embargo, agreement is still being sought among the 27
The agreement on the Russian oil embargo has not yet been reached but Timmermans is more optimistic than his colleague Joseph Borrell responsible for EU foreign policy. "We will do our best to unblock the situation but I cannot guarantee that an agreement will be reached because the positions are strong enough: my role is not to assign blame to someone but to build consensus", he concluded.
More optimistic Frans Timmermans who believes it is possible to reach an agreement. “We have to recognize that Hungary is almost entirely dependent on Russia for gas and oil. So we have to find alternatives for them too, demonstrate solidarity at a European level, we are ready”. Just today the topic will be on the table of the meeting of the EU foreign ministers and “I hope we can find a solution in the next few days,” concluded Timmermans. When asked if the solution could be a "differentiated embargo" between the various countries, the EU vice president replied that "we have already proposed giving some countries that are having difficulties a little more time to introduce this embargo. Let's see what we can do in the coming days to ensure their support as well".
