EU to take measures against dependency on Russian gas

EU to take measures against dependency on Russian gas

The European Commission will present an energy plan in June.

A construction worker stands in front of a section of Russia's South Stream pipeline near the village of Sajkas, 80 kilometres north of Serbian capital Belgrade on November 24th 2013. [AFP]

The European Union has decided to move quickly to reduce dependency on Russian gas after the events in Ukraine and Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula. Russia is the main supplier of gas and oil to Europe.

"The EU can decrease its dependence from Russia via further diversification of its suppliers, develop and further exploit renewables and alternative indigenous energy sources such as shale gas, boost LNG import from Qatar and the US, upgrade its own infrastructure so that energy can flow easily within the Internal Energy Market of the EU and develop Eastern Mediterranean gas fields," Nicole Bockstaller, press officer for energy policy in the Office of the EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger, told SETimes.

It can also increase its effort regarding energy efficiency, as fewer resources will have to be imported if more energy is saved.

The European Commission is to present a comprehensive plan by June for the reduction of EU energy dependence, including the diversification of its energy supply and further ways to develop routes through a southern corridor of Eastern Europe and from North America.

EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy said the Union will discuss an energy security framework in its top-level meeting in June.

"Europe is stepping up a gear … to reduce energy dependency, especially from Russia, by reducing our energy demand with more energy efficiency, by diversifying...