Protecting consumers and companies: Linden cogeneration plant in Lower Saxony, fired with natural gas, known as »The Three Warm Brothers«
Photo: DPA
Because of the serious tensions with Russia, the EU wants to become independent of Russian gas as quickly as possible.
The EU Commission has now presented its plan with concrete measures to reduce Russian gas imports by two thirds compared to the previous year by the end of the year.
“It's hard, damn hard.
But it is possible if we are willing to go further and faster than before,” said EU Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans.
The plan is about accelerating the expansion of renewable energies, opening up new sources for gas supplies and reducing energy consumption.
In addition, there should be minimum levels for gas storage.
More than 40 percent of the gas imported into the EU comes from Russia;
Germany in particular is dependent on Russian imports.
However, according to estimates by the Commission, the EU could do without Russian gas altogether well before 2030.
However, it is feared that Russia could stop gas deliveries on its own in the short term.
On Monday, Moscow openly threatened for the first time that it would no longer supply gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in the Baltic Sea, and Nord Stream 2, in turn, has been stopped.
EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said the EU is on the safe side for the rest of this winter, even in the event of a Russian gas supply freeze.
But you have to prepare yourself for the coming winter.
Consumers and companies should be protected
Even if Russian gas continues to flow, energy prices are likely to remain high this year, the commission estimates.
Gas prices had already risen before the war in Ukraine, partly because of high demand during the recovery from the corona pandemic.
EU countries should therefore protect consumers and companies with special measures, according to the plan.
You could exceptionally regulate the prices for households and small businesses.
In addition, they could tax the additional profits of electricity companies resulting from the high prices and redistribute them to end customers.
State aid for affected companies should also be simplified.
Gas storage should be filled
In order to avoid an energy crisis in the future, the Commission wants the EU gas storage facilities to be at least 90 percent full by October.
For example, EU countries could also make gas purchases together.
According to the Commission, European gas storage facilities are currently less than 30 percent full.
The authority wants to introduce a law in April to make higher filling levels mandatory every year.
Search for new gas sources begins
The Commission is looking for new sources of gas, particularly liquefied natural gas (LNG), which can be delivered by sea in tankers.
According to the plan, the EU could import up to 50 billion cubic meters of LNG per year from countries such as Qatar, the USA, Egypt or West Africa.
In addition, 10 billion cubic meters of conventional gas could come via pipelines from Algeria or Azerbaijan, for example.
Discussions are already underway for this.
The Commission also wants to increase biogas production in the EU to around 35 billion cubic meters per year by 2030, and import and produce more climate-friendly hydrogen in the future.
Pact for the expansion of renewable energies
In the Commission's view, the war in Ukraine must not lead to the energy transition being put on hold – on the contrary.
She is therefore planning a “Pact for Renewable Energy” to boost the expansion of solar energy, wind power, hydrogen infrastructure and heat pumps.
Approval procedures for green electricity projects should therefore be accelerated and new investors should be attracted.
Governments should identify specific areas on land and sea for development.
In June, the EU Commission intends to present a solar strategy with more specific proposals.
According to the plan, energy efficiency measures should also be given more support in order to use less energy overall.
There are already legislative proposals for this, which are currently being negotiated.
The authority would also like to expand the energy supply networks between the EU countries, for example between Portugal, Spain and France.
kig/dpa
