00:00Ending Russian energy dependence is the aim of a new roadmap present by the European Commission.
00:19The executive cites security reasons, adding that we also allow for better price control and the promotion of renewable energy in the EU.
00:30EU Decoded explains the objectives and the obstacles of the new Repower EU roadmap.
00:37Europe began to move away from its energy dependence on Russia after the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
00:44The war led to a spike in energy prices and the EU has since reduced its imports.
00:49Oil has fallen from 27% to 3%, gas has fallen from 45% to 19%.
00:56Coal, which then accounted for 50% of EU consumption, has been banned entirely by sanctions.
01:03The EU executive now wants to phase out all such imports by 2027.
01:09Nevertheless, the EU continues to contribute to Russia's budgets.
01:13Energy imports in 2024 brought in 23 billion euros to Moscow's coffers.
01:18We asked some Europeans about the ends of these imports.
01:22Magyarországon, amennyire én tudom, nincsenek meg a feltételi jelenleg annak, hogy máshonnan is komoly mennyiségű gázt importáljunk.
01:29Akkor azt gondolom, hogy ez egy olyan dolog, hogy hajlandó vagyok többet fizetni azért, hogy ez a konfliktus véget térjen.
01:38Azért a konfliktus végeztetni azért a konfliktus végeztetni azért.
01:43Aztán fogok feliratni az ötleti.
01:57I think, yes, we have to come up with a way to be sustainable,
02:02but I think Europe doesn't have the means to do that for the time being.
02:06We are still dependent.
02:07Euro News reporter Jorge Liborero has been following the EU's disengagement with Russia.
02:13What's the relation between the sanctions on Russian fuels and this new Repower EU roadmap?
02:21Well, it's related, but it's very different.
02:23We have to say sanctions are a foreign policy instrument that is used mainly to curtail the revenues that Russia earns
02:29to then fund the war of aggression against Ukraine.
02:34Now, the Repower EU, the main objective is to end the dependency that we have on Russian fuels.
02:40So the logic is the same, but the roadmap is trade and energy policy.
02:45So this is very important because it means it doesn't require the unanimity that sanctions require.
02:51Which countries are likely to oppose the phase-out of Russian fuels?
02:57Hungary and Slovakia.
02:58Nobody would be surprised to know this.
03:01They are still reliant on Russian fuels.
03:04They say that the phase-out from Russia will increase prices,
03:08will make prices more volatile for consumers and companies.
03:12And they also say it violates the sovereign right of every member state to choose their energy mix.
03:18But because we don't need unanimity, it will be easy to pass this?
03:22Exactly. I think this is why the Commission is trying this new way, you know,
03:26with trade and energy policy to bypass any individual vetoes that we might see in the future.
03:32How does the Commission intend to break these contracts with Russia?
03:36And what could be the risks for the companies in this sector?
03:39Well, there are risks because the contracts with Russian companies are usually long-term.
03:45They cover many years.
03:46So if you break the contract, you have to pay penalties for breaking the contract.
03:51So what the Commission is saying is that by imposing these bans,
03:55this prohibition on gas from Russia,
03:58the companies will have a strong excuse to invoke what is known as force majeure,
04:03which allows a company, a client, to break the contract without phasing any penalties
04:09because there's a circumstance that it's beyond their control.
04:13The RepowerEU roadmap proposes
04:16A ban on new short-term contracts for pipeline gas and LNG by the end of 2025
04:21A ban on imports of these gases under existing long-term contracts by the end of 2027
04:28New restrictions to phase out imports of uranium, enriched uranium and other nuclear materials
04:35No new contracts with Russian suppliers co-signed by the Euratom supply agency
04:41Around a third of EU member states will be affected
04:44Russian gas reaches 10 southern, central and eastern countries
04:48Oil is used only by Hungary and Slovakia
04:52Nuclear materials and services are used in seven countries
04:56Our guest is Svetelina Penkov, a Bulgarian socialist
05:01that is also one of the vice chairs of the European Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
05:07Does the EU have a sufficient safety net to avoid major disruptions in the market, including high prices?
05:14By cutting totally the Russian energy?
05:17So we've been trying to cut off the dependencies, create enough storage, find alternative suppliers
05:24and routes to ensure that the European industry and our households would not suffer from those shocks
05:31We've done a lot in terms of legislative framework, of course there is still more to be done
05:36Given that the dependency was quite high, but we've cut in terms of the volumes that we use
05:40Could you be creating new dependencies, particularly from the gas coming from the United States with which we have a trade war ongoing?
05:51Well, that's one of the traps that we can fall into
05:55Once we're trying to switch from one dependency, we shouldn't be falling into another
05:59Basically, diversification and risk reduction means that we really need to have many more suppliers
06:05and not put all of our eggs into one basket
06:08I'll give one example of a country that was very responsive in terms of the alternative gas supply that we needed
06:16with the start of the war, this was Azerbaijan
06:19They were the first one actually to proactively offer additional supplies of natural gas to the EU
06:27and they've also increased their production capacity almost twice to be able to meet the increasing demand from the EU
06:36And finally, how successful is the EU in transitioning to renewable energy when the European Green Deal is increasingly watered down?
06:46I think the European Green Deal set the infrastructure and the framework
06:50which makes it possible now to be speaking about the industrial deal
06:54When we're speaking about energy stability and predictability of prices
06:58we really need to be very clear that we need a balanced energy mix
07:04A balanced energy mix means renewable energy sources and baseload power
07:09I'm really happy that the moods towards nuclear energy in the EU are changing in a positive direction now
07:17because to ensure the stability in the energy system, we really do need baseload power
07:22which in this case the only future option for the Union is investing in nuclear energy
07:28Madam Tenkova, thank you very much for your contribution
07:31Thank you
07:32The European Commission stated that it wants to stop filling the Kremlin's war chest
07:37The President Ursula von der Leyen even said no more Russians fuels forever
07:42But some Member States would like to resume business with Russia after the war, which could lead to lower energy prices
07:49The European Union is walking the tightrope between protecting economy and ensuring security
07:56Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020
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