The European Union’s plan to become independent from Russian oil and gas is not progressing at the necessary pace, as the bloc heads into winter with unusually low gas stocks, the European Court of Auditors warned, Reuters reports.
The European auditors say the EU is not investing enough to achieve its goals of completely replacing Russian energy by diversifying fossil fuel suppliers, developing renewable energy and expanding network infrastructure between member states, according to News.ro.
The European Commission had initially estimated that giving up Russian energy would require investments of about 300 billion euros, an amount made available through the EU budget. So far, however, member states have committed only 54.3 billion euros.
The auditors said the huge gap could indicate either that the Commission misjudged the investment needs or that member states are struggling to implement the plan.
Russian gas imports fell from 45% to 12% of total
The EU has gradually reduced its dependence on Russian fuel since Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Sanctions on Russian oil transported by sea have almost completely eliminated imports of Russian crude into the EU. In the case of gas, Russia now accounts for about 12% of the bloc’s imports, down from 45% before 2022.
However, the Court of Auditors warned that this reduction was partly due to mild winters and high energy prices, which reduced demand, and not solely to measures taken by European authorities.
The auditors recommend that the European Commission intervene more actively to ensure that member states respect the timetable for phasing out Russian energy.
Gas storage facilities are only 67% full
The warning comes at a difficult time for European energy security, amid the war with Iran and pressures on global supplies.
EU gas storage facilities are currently only 67% full, compared with around 80% at the same time last year, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe.
The low level of stocks could expose European countries to sharp price increases during the winter, especially as the EU is set to ban all imports of liquefied natural gas from Russia from 1 January 2027.
The European Commission says European measures and funding have accelerated the development of renewable energy projects and helped to drastically reduce Russian gas imports. The community executive stated that it will analyze and follow up on the recommendations of the Court of Auditors.