The cold winter of 2021/22 taught the EU a bitter lesson. European consumers took the brunt of the energy crisis, including soaring gas prices and energy shortage. Looking ahead, the EU authorities reported that gas storage facilities had been replenished almost to their full capacity for the next winter.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also confirmed that Europe had enough gas reserves to last through next winter even if Russia cut its gas supplies. EU policymakers admit that they should revise their energy policy to scale back and eventually terminate the EU reliance on Russian gas imports as the Kremlin always weaponizes this issue and threatens European security. Joint efforts of policymakers have ensured energy independence at least for the year ahead despite a serious shortage in the global energy market. Nowadays Brussels is in search of other reliable suppliers.
The European Commission has presented EU countries with a draft of how to make Europe independent from Russian fossil fuels well before 2030, starting with gas. The Commission proposes steps that could slash gas supplies from Russia by 67% by the end of 2022. The European Commission chief noted that the EU’s ultimate goal is to impose sanctions on Russia with a view to the strongest effect on Moscow and the least damage to the European economy, in particular the energy sector.
