European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the abandonment of cheap fossil fuel supplies from Moscow has cost the European Union (EU).
Energy prices have skyrocketed across the EU due to disruptions in cheap supply from Russia - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland on January 21.
Ms. von der Leyen said that before 2022, the EU had received 45% of its gas and 50% of its coal from Russia, while Moscow was one of the largest oil suppliers in the bloc. "This source of energy seems cheap, but it makes us dependent and vulnerable to blackmail," she admitted.
Von der Leyen continued to state that Russian President Vladimir Putin "had cut off our gas supplies" after the conflict in Ukraine broke out in February 2022.
"Our gas imports from Russia have decreased by about 75%. And we currently only import 3% of Russian oil and absolutely do not import coal from Russia," she said.
The European Commission president continues to acknowledge that the loss of supply from Russia has exacerbated the energy crisis. freedoms have paid the price. Households and businesses face skyrocketing energy bills and in many places this cost has not decreased.
The EU has imposed comprehensive sanctions on Russia, targeting the country's industry, as well as the energy and financial sectors. In 2022, Russia stopped supplying gas to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, citing maintenance reasons and the impact of sanctions, so Western-made equipment was not delivered.
In September 2022, the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines running under the Baltic Sea were sabotaged, completely disrupting Russian gas supplies to the EU. Russia has accused the US and UK of being behind the incident, but both countries have denied responsibility.
In a speech in Davos, Ms. von der Leyen said that the EU can replace Russian gas supplies with renewable energy and nuclear energy. We will have to invest in next-generation clean energy technologies, such as tropical cyclones, intensified heatstroke and solid-state batteries, said the head of the European Commission.
However, some EU member states such as Hungary and Slovakia are increasingly calling on Brussels to reconsider its sanctions policy and seek diplomatic solutions to the conflict in Ukraine.
On January 1, 2025, Ukraine stopped shipping Russian gas to EU countries via Soviet-era pipelines, after Kiev decided not to extend the agreement with Russian oil giant Gazprom. This has prompted Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico to threaten to cut humanitarian aid and power supplies to Ukraine if Kiev does not resume gas transit.
