EU Commission proposes plan worth EUR 300 billion to end Russian fuel imports

• Published date: 18 May 2022
• Publication title: LETA

The European Union will have to invest up to EUR 300 billion (USD 316 billion) by 2030 to become independent of Russian energy imports, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.

"We must now reduce as soon as possible our dependency on Russian fossil fuels," von der Leyen said in a speech in Brussels, presenting the EU's strategy to break away from Russian energy imports by the end of the decade.

The plan will help save energy, diversify energy imports and accelerate the phase-out of fossil fuels, von der Leyen said.

Under the initiative, termed REPowerEU, 45 percent of the EU's energy is to come from renewable sources by 2030, instead of 40 percent as previously planned. Energy consumption should decrease by at least 13 percent instead of 9 percent.

To achieve this, the commission wants, among other things, to shorten approval procedures for renewable energy projects, make solar panels on certain roofs mandatory, and import more climate-friendly hydrogen.

In the short term, the commission expects an increase in conventional energy production like coal and nuclear, to compensate for Russian fuel, before transitioning more quickly than initially planned to clean energy.

EU countries pay around EUR 100 billion per year for Russian fuel, according to the commission.

Depriving the Kremlin of this revenue source has become a political priority for...