Auditors say EU's Russian Energy Exit is failing

Auditors said that the EU's efforts to be independent of Russian oil and gas are faltering as it heads into winter with unusually low stocks.

The European?Court of Auditors stated?in a recent report that?the?EU?is not investing enough in order to achieve its aims of replacing Russian energy by diversified fossil fuels and expanding renewable energy, grid infrastructure and increasing energy flows between EU member states over the next several years.

Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the European Union has gradually phased out Russian fuel imports.

The EU has eliminated nearly all Russian crude oil imports due to sanctions on seaborne Russian oils. It now imports 12% of its natural gas from Russia. This is down from 45% in 2022.

The auditors noted that the EU's plan to stop using Russian energy is "failing just at the time when Europe's energy security faces renewed threats? from the turmoil in the Middle East".

Europe struggles to fill its gas storage before winter as the Iran War squeezes global supply. Gas Infrastructure Europe's data show that EU gas caverns have only 67% of their capacity filled, a far cry from the 80% reached at this time last season.

Analysts warn that this could lead to price spikes in winter, especially as the EU's Russian Gas phaseout will ban all Russian LNG imports on January 1, 2027.

Auditors said that the EU replaced Russian gas in part due to mild weather conditions and high energy prices, which reduced demand. They did not attribute this to policy. The auditors recommended that Brussels intervened more to ensure that countries "stay on track" with the Russian withdrawal.

A spokesperson for the European Commission said that EU funding and actions had helped accelerate renewable energy projects and led to a dramatic reduction in Russian gas.

The spokesperson said that "the Commission will follow up on ECA recommendations."

The Commission estimated that its plan to stop Russian energy use would require?investments of EUR300 billion and made this available from the EU budget.

The auditors noted that, so far, countries have committed only EUR54.3 billion, which indicates that either the Commission miscalculated the need for investment or that the countries are having difficulty executing the plan.

(source: Reuters)