Energy decoupling: This is how dependent Europe is on Russia

Dependence on Russia has fallen dramatically, says Ben McWilliams, energy expert at the Brussels think tank Bruegel. You see this especially with one energy source: gas. Since the beginning of Russia's major invasion, the EU has reduced the amount of gas imports from Russia by three quarters. From the beginning of next year, the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) will be completely banned, and from autumn this will also apply to pipeline gas.

But the picture is much more mixed. According to the "Russia Fossil Tracker" from the Finnish think tank Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), the 27 EU member states have spent around 238 billion euros on coal, oil and gas from Russia. In this way, Russia is terrorizing the Ukrainian population with missiles and drones, says MEP Hanna Gedin from the Swedish socialist party Vänsterpartiet.

Individual states remain dependent on oil

At the beginning of the year, the EU Commission promised a plan to phase out Russian oil, but this is still not available: "Where is the promised legislation? Where is your courage to set a good example?" Gedin asks the Strasbourg parliament.

When it comes to oil, individual EU states remain dependent on imports from Russia; Hungary and Slovakia via the "Druzhba" pipeline. And such dependencies cannot be magically eliminated overnight. However, in the European Union as a whole, the share of Russian oil has declined sharply.

New fuel from Trump's diesel deal

The actions of the US government, on the other hand, provide new explosive material. Washington first concluded a diesel deal with Russia, and later President Donald Trump suspended sanctions against the Putin regime shortly before they came into force. “It would be crazy to buy energy from Russia again,” says Ben McWilliams from Bruegel.

The energy expert believes that Trump's Russia diplomacy should have no impact on the current European line. This is also the opinion of the majority of members of the European Parliament. For example, the Social Democrat Jens Geier: "We are in a relationship of dependency on a warmonger, and that must be ended as quickly as possible."

Great dependence on nuclear energy

However, one aspect of Russia's energy dependence is rarely mentioned in discussions in Brussels and Strasbourg: nuclear energy. The amount of uranium imported from Russia has remained almost the same for years, according to the Euratom agency. The state-owned company Rosatom, which enriches uranium, even expanded its business in the EU.

There are Russian-designed reactors in five EU countries. And in Lingen, Lower Saxony, fuel elements will soon be produced for these - by a French-Russian joint venture between Framatome and Rosatom.

A blind spot in European energy policy, says Ben McWilliams: "In euro terms, these amounts are not that big. Oil and gas are more crucial for Putin's war machine. But the problem with uranium is its strategic dependence on Russia."

Diversification still takes time

So far, not much has happened here, despite European declarations of intent. Not only, but also because of resistance in France. French MP from the liberal Renew group Pascal Canfin points out that it is actually technically more complicated to phase out Russian uranium than gas or oil.

The suppliers here are also more diversified. The EU purchases uranium largely from Canada, Kazakhstan and Australia. When it comes to gas, however, at the beginning of 2022 - before the start of the war - half of the imports came from Russia. Such an imbalance, which made Russia a blackmailer, must never be allowed to happen again, says Canfin.

The most important thing for the EU is to rely more and more on electricity. This is increasingly being sourced from renewable energies. However, according to Canfin, the next danger lurks here. Namely a dependence on China for the production of solar panels and wind turbines.