As European Union leaders wrapped their two-day summit in Versailles, France, on Friday, they did so without reaching consensus on one key issue: when to end the bloc’s outsize energy dependence on Russia.
In a joint statement filed Friday evening local time, EU leaders were unsparing in their condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his country’s invasion of Ukraine, which leaders said “brought war back to Europe” and is inflicting “unspeakable” suffering on the population of Ukraine.
They also vowed to phase out their dependency on Russian gas, oil, and coal imports “as soon as possible.”
But after two days of intense discussions regarding both the future of Ukraine and to bloc’s own dependence on Russia, leaders failed to settle on a firm date as to when.
Earlier this week, the EU released a proposal to phase out two-thirds of its Russian gas imports by the end of this year and end all imports of Russian energy supplies “well before” 2030.
On Thursday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suggested the bloc commit to 2027 as a firm deadline for ending the imports.
Instead, members slow-walked the decision even further, asking Brussels on Friday to put forward a proposal in May.
The reluctance comes as Europe seeks to diversify its own gas supply and rapidly accelerate the development of renewable energy, hoping to free itself from its ties to Russia, which provides 40% of the EU’s energy supplies and roughly 25% of its oil.
To replace their dependence, leaders have proposed seeking out additional liquefied natural gas partnerships and speeding up the rollout of renewable gas, solar energy, and other energy-saving measures, according to draft materials published by the EU commission earlier this week.
BIDEN OIL BAN ADDS UNCERTAINTY FOR US OIL AND GAS COMPANIES
And while all leaders are eager to free themselves from their dependence on Russia, a country whose president has now threatened them with the prospect of war and touched off a refugee crisis not seen on the continent since World War II, some leaders have been more reticent than others to embrace a firm deadline on declaring independence from its oil and gas supply.
Weaning the bloc off Russian energy is likely to be an especially difficult task given that some EU member economies — including Germany, Italy, and several countries in Eastern Europe — rely much more heavily on Russian imports than others.
“It’s a very difficult situation that, on the one hand, we have these financial sanctions that are very hard, but on the other hand, we are supporting and actually financing Russia’s war purchasing oil and gas and other fossil fuels from Russia,” Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin told reporters ahead of the summit in Versailles. “We have to get rid of the fossil fuels coming from Russia as soon as possible.”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/eu-leaders-fail-to-agree-on-deadline-to-phase-out-russian-energy
No comments:
Post a Comment