EU announces plan to end dependency on Russian energy

The European Commission has unveiled a roadmap to end the European Union’s dependency on Russian energy imports, aiming to phase out Russian gas, oil, and nuclear energy in a coordinated and secure manner. The initiative, part of the REPowerEU Roadmap presented today, seeks to ensure stable energy supplies and prices while reinforcing Europe’s energy security.

Despite progress under the REPowerEU Plan and sanctions imposed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU experienced a rebound in Russian gas imports in 2024. The Commission warned that continued reliance on Russian energy poses a security risk, calling for more coordinated action across Member States.

“The war in Ukraine has brutally exposed the risks of blackmail, economic coercion, and price shocks,” said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “We have diversified our energy supply and drastically reduced Europe’s former dependency on Russian fossil fuels. It is now time for Europe to completely cut off its energy ties with an unreliable supplier. Energy coming to our continent should not finance a war of aggression against Ukraine.”

The roadmap outlines a gradual phase-out of Russian energy imports, with measures designed to maintain energy security and limit impacts on prices and markets. From 2025, global liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies are expected to increase significantly while EU gas demand will decline. The EU aims to replace up to 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas by 2030, cutting demand by 40 to 50 billion cubic meters by 2027. At the same time, LNG capacity is projected to rise by 200 billion cubic meters by 2028—five times the EU’s current imports of Russian gas.

The European Commission plans to submit legislative proposals next month to implement the roadmap. Member States will be required to prepare national plans by the end of the year, detailing how they will contribute to the phase-out of Russian gas, oil, and nuclear energy.

As part of the plan, the Commission will improve transparency and monitoring of Russian gas within EU markets. New contracts for Russian gas, whether pipeline or LNG, will be prohibited, and existing spot contracts will be terminated by the end of 2025. The EU aims to reduce Russian gas imports by one-third by the end of this year, with all remaining imports to be phased out by the end of 2027.

The roadmap also includes actions to address the use of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” in transporting oil. In the nuclear sector, upcoming proposals will cover restrictions on imports of enriched uranium and related materials from Russia, as well as limits on new supply contracts under the Euratom Supply Agency. A European Radioisotopes Valley Initiative is planned to secure the EU’s supply of medical radioisotopes through increased domestic production.

The roadmap builds on measures taken since the launch of the REPowerEU Plan in May 2022. Since then, the EU has reduced Russian gas imports from 150 billion cubic meters in 2021 to 52 billion in 2024, cutting Russia’s share of EU gas imports from 45% to 19%. Russian coal imports have been banned, while oil imports have dropped from 27% at the start of 2022 to 3% today. Member States using Russian-designed VVER nuclear reactors have begun transitioning to alternative fuel sources.

By fully phasing out Russian energy, the EU aims to mitigate security risks, strengthen its economy, and advance its decarbonisation goals, aligning with broader initiatives such as the Competitiveness Compass, the Clean Industrial Deal, and the Affordable Energy Action Plan.