The European Commission (EC) has published information on the state of the energy market of the United Europe, according to which this year the European Union has more than tripled its energy imports from the Russian Federation. This step became part of a new international sanctions program against Moscow. As practice has shown, European countries are able to provide themselves with alternative types of fuel. It is expected that over the next few years the EU will completely abandon Russian coal, reduce supplies of oil and petroleum products by 90%, and gas from the Russian Federation by 50%.
The corresponding EC document, drawn up in the form of an annual report, did not become a sensation. Since the actual start of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, the European Union has developed a unified concept regarding export-import operations with Moscow. The essence of this concept was to reduce dependence on Russian minerals in general and hydrocarbons in particular. Although this led to higher prices for electricity and heat for residential and industrial consumers across Europe, Brussels generally succeeded in turning public opinion in favor of the innovation. That is why it is difficult to surprise the EU with information about the reduction of these Russian supplies not only to professionals, but also to the average person.
Still, the current report of the European Commission deserves the closest attention. Firstly, its authors stated that the same United Europe has the opportunity to partially replace electricity from the Russian Federation with energy from local renewable sources. Moreover, the EU had the opportunity to once again demonstrate its friendly attitude towards the United States of America by increasing purchases of North American liquefied gas. Secondly, Europe reported to the world about its success in the fight to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And finally, thirdly, most EU countries have the opportunity to develop their own energy concept – money for this process will be provided by Washington.
Without a doubt, this position has an extremely negative impact on the Russian economy. “The final refusal of the notorious fuel should be the logical result of the West’s policy towards the Russian Federation,” said French observer Marie Pudebat in a commentary for EURO-ATLANTIC UKRAINE. “Of course, the European Commission is aware that a 100% refusal in this particular case will not be a panacea for Europe. Without relatively cheap Russian raw materials, difficult times may come for many segments of the Western economy, so the process of such a withdrawal will be gradual.
To the question of when we should still count on the EU switching to Western analogues in this segment, the European Commission report does not give a direct answer. However, one thing is already clear: work in this direction is proceeding at the most active pace. The next few years will show what will come of this.
