00:00Musica
00:01Ending 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
00:26and 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
00:42invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
00:44The war led to a spike in energy prices and the EU has since reduced its imports.
00:50Oil 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.
01:08Nevertheless, the EU continues to contribute to Russia's budgets.
01:13Energy imports in 2024 brought in 23 billion euros to Moscow's coffers.
01:19We asked some Europeans about the ends of these imports.
01:22We should be looking externally for these things. I mean, why would we be sending money to countries that are hurting other countries?
01:28Europe does need gas and finding new sources of gas probably is not as simple as, you know, going from day one to day one.
01:35I think, yes, we have to come up with a way to be sustainable, but I think Europe doesn't have the means to do that for the time.
01:42being. We are still dependent.
01:43Euronews reporter Jorge Liborero has been following the EU's disengagement.
01:49With Russia.
01:50What's the relation between the sanctions on Russian fuels and this new repowerment?
01:51Euronews reporter Jorge Liborero has been following the EU's disengagement with Russia.
01:56What's the relation between the sanctions on Russian fuels and this new repowerment?
02:01EU roadmap?
02:02Well, it's related, but it's very different.
02:03We have to say sanctions are a foreign policy instrument that is used mainly to curtail the revenues that Russia earns to then fund the EU's disengagement.
02:08We are still dependent.
02:09Euronews 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?
02:20Well, 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 to then fund the war of aggression against Ukraine.
02:33Now, 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?
02:56Hungary and Slovakia.
02:58Nobody would be surprised to know this.
03:00They are still reliant on Russian fuels.
03:03They say that the phase out from Russia will increase prices, will make prices more volatile for consumers and companies.
03:11And they also say it violates the sovereign right of every member states 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, with trade and energy policy,
03:28to bypass any individual vetoes that we might see in the future.
03:32How does the Commission intend to break these contracts with Russia and 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.
03:44They cover many years.
03:46So if you break the contract, you have to pay penalties for breaking the contract.
03:50So what the Commission is saying that by imposing these bans, this prohibition on gas from Russia,
03:57the 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 facing any penalties,
04:09because there is a circumstance that is beyond their control.
04:13The RepowerEU roadmap proposes a ban on new short term contracts for pipeline gas and LNG by the end of 2025,
04:22a 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.
05:06Does the EU have sufficient safety nets to avoid major disruptions in the market,
05:12including high prices, by cutting totally the Russian energy?
05:17So we've been trying to cut off the dependencies, create enough storage,
05:21find alternative suppliers and 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.
05:34Of course there is still more to be done, given that the dependency was quite high,
05:38but we've cut in terms of the volumes that we use.
05:41Could you be creating new dependencies, particularly from the gas coming from the United States,
05:48with 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.
06:28And 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,
07:23which in this case the only future option for the Union is investing in nuclear energy.
07:29Madam 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 Russian fuels forever.
07:42But some member states would like to resume business with Russia after the war,
07:47which could lead to lower energy prices.
07:50The European Union is walking a tightrope between protecting economy and ensuring security.
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