European Commission to accelerate the abandonment of Russian gas
The European Commission expects that additional sources of liquefied natural gas supply will allow the EU to cease imports of this type of fuel from the Russian Federation faster than previously planned.
This was reported to journalists at a briefing in Brussels by European Commission spokesperson Anna Kaisa Itkonen, as conveyed by Ukrinform.
Itkonen explained that the initial estimates were based on information available at the beginning of the year when the European Commission had to 'remain quite realistic and give market operators enough time to find alternatives.'
However, the situation has changed: 'In the coming months, new sources of LNG will appear on the market, and it will be supplied better. And so we have seen that this proposal can be made already now,' emphasized the spokesperson.
The official also clarified the differences between sanctions measures and the RePower Europe initiative, which aims for a gradual abandonment of Russian fuel.
'RePower Europe offers a permanent ban on the import of Russian gas — both pipeline and liquefied. For the sake of supply security, it has no time frames, and it also applies to oil,' Itkonen stressed.
At the same time, the new proposal, announced last week, concerns only liquefied gas, making it more narrowly focused compared to the overall strategy for energy independence from Russia.
Accelerating the abandonment of Russian LNG will be an important step in reducing the EU's energy dependence on the aggressor and enhancing the energy security of European countries.
The message from the European Commission indicates that due to new sources of liquefied natural gas supply, the EU plans to abandon imports of this type of fuel from Russia faster. This step has strategic significance for reducing energy dependence on the Russian Federation and enhancing the security of energy resource supplies in European countries.