The EU Commission unveils its plan to be independent from Russian energy “as soon as possible”. What in early March was a goal to be achieved by 2030, has now become a priority to be pursued "as soon as possible." The war in Ukraine has exposed the vulnerability of the 27 EU member states in terms of energy security.
The risks became concrete with Russian company Gazprom's decision in late April 2022 to cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria. Energy EU Commissioner Kadri Simson called the danger of a total disruption of energy supplies from Russia "tangible."
Brussels announced in March the preparation of a defined strategy to stop importing oil, gas and coal from Russia by 2027. When the commissioners presented "RepowerEU" on May 18, based on the guidance provided by European leaders on March 24-25, any time reference was removed. Getting out of energy dependence on Russia became a goal to be achieved "as soon as possible.
