Brussels March 8 2022: The European Commission has proposed an outline of a plan to make Europe independent from Russian fossil fuels before 2030 – starting with gas.
The announcement comes after Russia earlier threatened to close its main gas pipeline to Germany if the West goes ahead with a ban on Russian oil.
This plan – a joint European action – also outlines a series of measures in response to rising energy prices in Europe, and to help replenish gas stocks for next winter.
Europe has been facing increased energy prices for several months, but now uncertainty on supply – in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – is exacerbating the issue.
REPowerEU will seek to diversify gas supplies, speed up the roll-out of renewable gases and replace gas in heating and power generation.
The plan is intended to reduce EU demand for Russian gas by two-thirds before the end of the year.