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The European Commission has recently introduced an ambitious plan aimed at eliminating Russian fossil fuels from its energy mixture by 2027. This announcement comes after months of growing criticism about massive liquefied gas imports (LNG) from Russia. Dan Jorgensen, the European Commissioner for Energy, introduced this plan in Strasbourg to transform the political promises of the block into binding measures. This initiative is part of a tense geopolitical context where Europe’s energy independence has become a strategic priority.
Russian imports of LNG increase
Despite the general decline in imports of fossil fuels from Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 in 2024, Russian imports of Russian LNG increased by 18 %. This significant increase is against European efforts to reduce its energy dependence on Russia. In 2024, the European Union spent 23 billion euros on Russian fossil fuels, which directly contributed to the budget of the war Kremlin. Pawel Czyzak, a researcher of EMBER, emphasizes that this plan of the European Commission aims to revive political dynamics to complete energy independence. However, he mentions that Russian gas still represented in 2024 between 17.5 and 19 % of the total import of the EU.
Energy security has been the main problem since the Russian invasion, but the world market disorders led to economic challenges, including a high increase and life crisis for European households. The way to energy independence is upset with pitfallsAnd the approach of the commission was criticized for its inconsistency.
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Incoherent way
Until now, LNG has not been included in EU sanctions against Russia. In March 2025, the Commission banned translations in LNG Russian through European ports to non -eu countries. However, Russian LNG imports for European domestic consumption were not affected and some countries benefited. According to the Institute for the Energy Economy and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), France, Belgium and Spain are the main entrance door of the Russian LNG in Europe.
Thanks to its advanced infrastructure, France increased its Russian LNG import by 81 % in 2024 and paid Russia EUR 2.68 billion. Analyst Ana Maria Jaller-Makarewicz, an IEEFA analyst, expresses her concerns about the potential transmission of this gas to other European countries, once again in the French network. Once integrated into the network, it is impossible to draw your originThis could allow the reconstruction of Russian gas as European.
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Repuowreu, strategy to review
The Repowereu program was launched in 2022 to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels, to promote renewable energies and diversify suppliers. According to Pawel Czyzak, however, the EU proceeded in its energy transition, but it has set out in the import of gas in the wrong direction. LNG from the United States is now dominated by the EU supply, but Czyzak doubts its reliability. The United States has put pressure on Europe to buy their gas and go so far that they threaten taxes in case of non -compliance.
Despite the efforts to ensure alternative gas sources, energy prices in Europe remain high. In 2024, gas prices increased by 59 %, and although the end of the heating period led to a slight decrease, prices remain much higher than the pre -war level. This emphasizes the industrial disadvantage of Europe compared to the United States and China.
Permanent solutions for LNG
Rather than replacing Russian gas with another importer, experts agree that the EU must reduce overall gas consumption. If industrial energy seems to be difficult, Jaller-Makarewicz records the real potential to reduce European household consumption. Effective measures would be to build better isolated houses to reduce gas demand for heating and support residential solar panels.
However, as the reactions to the German right to heat pumping showed, green reforms require public support to be effective. The European Commission’s plan must now be approved by Member States. Although the qualified majority vote is sufficient, political risks are obvious. Countries like Hungary, Slovakia and Austria, still dependent on Russian gas, have already expressed their opposition to such measures.
The EU energy plan raises key issues for the energy future of Europe. Will cooperation between Member States be sufficient to overcome political differences and ensure the supply of block energy while respecting ecological goals?
The author relied on artificial intelligence to enrich this article.
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