On February 24, 2022, Russia’s war against Ukraine deeply affected Europe and caused a major energy crisis in the continent. The European Union (EU), which supplies almost half of its gas needs from Russia, introduced various sanctions packages with the start of the Russia-Ukraine War in order to weaken Moscow’s power. In response to these sanctions, Russia used its energy resources as leverage against Europe. Thus, EU leaders realized that it was necessary to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels and resorted to alternative means to secure energy supplies and turn to secure and diverse energy sources.
In March 2022, the European Commission presented a blueprint for Europe’s recovery from the energy crisis, REPowerEU, calling for a rapid phase-out of Russian fossil fuels and accelerated implementation of the European Green Deal. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said of the proposed plan, “We must become independent from Russian oil, coal and gas. We simply cannot rely on a supplier who explicitly threatens us. We need to act now to mitigate the impact of rising energy prices, diversify our gas supply for next winter and accelerate the clean energy transition.”[1]
Launched on May 18, 2022 by the European Commission, the Plan aims to phase out imports of Russian fossil fuels before 2030, diversify energy sources, produce more clean energy and thus reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
In April 2022, the European Commission launched the “EU Energy Platform” Initiative in line with REPowerEU. The platform aims to diversify energy suppliers and increase the efficiency of existing infrastructure utilization. In this context, the Union, which received around 45% of its gas supply from Russia in 2021, has continuously reduced its Russian gas supply since February 2022 and Russian gas accounted for 15% of the EU’s total gas imports in 2023. Russia’s declining share was replaced within two years by Norway and the United States, which became the EU’s largest suppliers.[2] The EU has also signed gas supply agreements with Azerbaijan, Algeria, Qatar and Egypt.
In 2023, the European Commission launched a mechanism called AggregateEU, which aims to coordinate gas purchases and joint gas purchases among European companies. Through this mechanism, which aims to ensure adequate and diversified gas supplies for the winter of 2023-2024, 42 billion cubic meters of demand was met through four short-term auctions in 2023.[3]
As part of the plan, the European Commission proposed a voluntary reduction in gas use. EU countries accepted this proposal, resulting in an 18% reduction in gas consumption between August 2022 and March 2024, saving approximately 101 billion cubic meters of gas.[4]
Since 2022, the EU has generated more electricity from renewable energy than gas for the first time. According to a report by the energy think tank Ember, 44% of the EU electricity mix in 2023 was generated from renewable energy sources.[5] This has enabled the Union to reduce the use of fossil fuels and increase renewable energy sources, leading to lower energy sector emissions. In addition, the “Renewable Energy Directive” was revised and entered into force in November 2023. The Directive aims to increase the EU’s share of renewable energy consumption to 42.5% by 2030. [6]
In February 2023, the Commission proposed a “Green Deal Industrial Plan” to complement existing efforts under REPowerEU. It aims to promote efforts to decarbonize the EU and counter import dependency for key commodities and technologies in the transition to clean energy. To secure these objectives, the Commission has proposed three legislative measures. These are the Reform of Electricity Market Design, the Critical Raw Materials Act and the Net-Zero Industry Act.
The Reform of the Electricity Market Design aims to clean up EU industry by providing a non-fossil and affordable source of energy by increasing the share of renewables and accelerating the phase-out of gas.
The Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) aims to ensure the secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials for European industry and reduce the EU’s dependence on imports from single country suppliers. The law also envisages the establishment of a mechanism for demand aggregation and joint procurement of critical raw materials, functioning in a similar way to the AggregateEU mechanism.[7]
The Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) aims to help increase the resilience of Europe’s clean energy supply chains after the energy crisis following the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s attack on Ukraine. “We have already shown what Europe can achieve with the REPowerEU plan, which is ending our dependence on Russian fossil fuels. This is the next step to a sustainable and green energy transition.” said European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson.[8]
In conclusion, it can be said that the energy crisis that emerged in the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine War that started in 2022 caused a major shake-up in European markets. The Union realized that the large share of oil and gas imports from Russia in the European energy mix created an overdependence on a single, unreliable supplier. To overcome this problem, the EU implemented the REPowerEU plan and diversified its energy suppliers by establishing reliable and diverse partnerships.
The EU’s efforts to transition to renewable energy are a good option for energy independence and security of supply. While Europe’s energy vulnerability as the world’s largest energy importer will not change with the transition to a renewable energy model, it offers Europe the opportunity to diversify its sources of supply.
In short, the REPowerEU plan plays a crucial role in helping the EU tackle its energy crisis. However, while the EU has so far achieved most of the targets set out in the plan, its achievements may not be long-term. It is therefore crucial for the EU to reduce its gas consumption, diversify its import sources, increase its renewable resources and continue its decarbonization efforts.
[1] “Ukraine crisis leaves Europe at an energy crossroads”, Financial Times, https://channels.ft.com/en/rethink/ukraine-crisis-leaves-europe-at-an-energy-crossroads/, (Date of Access: 19.05.2024).
[2] “Report From The Commission To The Council review on the functioning of Regulation (EU) 2022/1369 on coordinated gas demand reduction, amended by Regulation (EU) 2023/706”, EUR-Lex, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52024DC0088&qid=1716282728664, (Date of Access: 19.05.2024).
[3] “Companies bid for 34 bcm of gas in new joint EU tender”, Euractiv, https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/update-1-companies-bid-for-34-bcm-of-gas-in-new-joint-eu-tender-sefcovic-says/, (Date of Access: 19.05.2024).
[4] Ibid.
[5] “European Electricity Review 2024”, Ember, https://ember-climate.org/insights/research/european-electricity-review-2024/, (Date of Access: 19.05.2024) https://www.osborneclarke.com/insights/eus-new-red-iii-legislation-significantly-raises-renewable-energy-targets-2030, (Erişim Tarihi: 19.05.2024).
[6] “EU’s new RED III legislation significantly raises renewable energy targets for 2030”, Obsorne Clarke, https://www.osborneclarke.com/insights/eus-new-red-iii-legislation-significantly-raises-renewable-energy-targets-2030, (Date of Access: 19.05.2024).
[7] “Communication From The Commission To The European Parliament, The Council, The European Economic And Social Committee And The Committee Of The Regions A secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials in support of the twin transition, EUR-Lex, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2023%3A165%3AFIN, (Date of Access: 19.05.2024).
[8] “Net-Zero Industry Act: Making the EU the home of clean technologies manufacturing and green jobs”, European Commission, https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_1665, (Date of Access: 19.05.2024).
