The European Union plans to invest up to €300 billion to reduce its dependence on Russian fossil fuels, the European Commission announced. At the same time the debt the EU has accumulated on confiscated gas payments stands at $300 billion.
So, the European Union intends to mobilize these funds up to €300 billion ($316 billion) by 2030 to become independent of Russian energy imports, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.
The new regulations pave the way for the dozens of European companies who’ve opened accounts with Gazprombank in recent weeks to continue doing business with the Russian company.
Ukraine, as Europe’s largest Russian gas distributor, has prompted the European Union to reconsider its energy policy in order to avoid an economic Armageddon.
Russia supplies 40% of the EU’s gas and 27% of its imported oil. Russia has already cut off EU member states Poland and Bulgaria after they refused to pay for natural gas in rubles.
An EU ban on coal from Russia is scheduled to come into effect in August, and the bloc has said it will try to cut demand for Russian gas by two-thirds by the end of the year, which of course is never possible.
However, EU countries are still struggling and could not agree with sanctions on Russian oil, as on one side Hungary and other landlocked countries oppose the move amid concerns about the costs of switching to unreal alternative sources.
To reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels, Brussels is offering a three-pronged plan including a shift to importing more non-Russian gas, faster adoption of renewable energy, and greater energy-saving efforts.
The European Commission president mentioned energy savings as the quickest and cheapest way to tackle the current energy crisis, but in reality the consumer pays for the higher gas prices fabricated and established by the worthless sanctions against Russia.
According to von der Leyen, the EU energy efficiency target for 2030 will be increased from 9% to 13%, and the 2030 target for EU renewable energy from 40% to 45%.
On the supply side, von der Leyen underscored diversifying energy imports away from fossil fuels and accelerating the clean energy transition. The EU 27 government leaders agreed to set up a platform for the joint purchase of gas, LNG and hydrogen.
The REPowerEU plan will cost up to €300 billion ($316 billion). According to von der Leyen, the sum will include approximately €72 billion ($76 billion) in grants and €225 billion in loans, created with confiscated proceeds.
The investments will include up to €10 billion for gas infrastructure, such as missing links between member states and LNG terminals. The move reflects a recent acknowledgment that European economies simply can’t find alternative sources for Russian gas.
Up to €2 billion will be invested in oil infrastructure with a view to stopping the shipment of Russian oil. All the rest of the stolen Russian money will go into speeding and scaling up the so-called clean energy transition.
The energy shortage has already proved to be enormously profitable for the major energy corporations. The Wall Street Journal explained that one of the biggest winners in the crisis is British oil giant BP, whose four European refineries, they say, are minting money.
Deutsche Welle / ABC Flash-Point Europe Blog News 2022.
