The European Commission said on Tuesday that the European Union’s (EU) dependence on Russian fuel no longer exists, given that Russian natural gas is “rapidly disappearing” from the European market, according to spokesman Adalbert Janz.
“We are no longer dependent on Russian fossil fuels in general,” he said, stressing at a European Commission press conference quoted by Efe, “coal imports have stopped, and oil imports are only a small part of what it used to be.” . war”.
In April 2022, European Union (EU) countries agreed to veto Russian coal purchases in response to the invasion of Ukraine, and last June they also agreed to a partial embargo on Russian oil.
Regarding natural gas, a European Commission spokesman said that in March 2023, only 8% of all gas imports came from Russia, in contrast to the pre-war situation, when Russian gas accounted for more than 50% of EU imports. .
“This is due to a very intensive program to find alternative suppliers, to which the Commission is very committed,” Janz said at a press conference.
In this regard, the spokesman stressed that last year the EU “exceeded the goals” of the RepowerEU plan, developed by Brussels to reduce Moscow’s dependence on gas, oil and coal and strengthen European energy sovereignty.