Latest news with #EUenergy
E&E News
5 days ago
- Business
- E&E News
EU's top Russian LNG buyers refuse to back Brussels' gas ban
BRUSSELS — The European Union's two biggest buyers of Russian liquefied natural gas are refusing to endorse Brussels' plan to ban Moscow's gas, arguing they need more reassurances on the economic and legal consequences of the move before making a decision. France, the bloc's top buyer, told POLITICO it prefers a strategy of hunting for alternative supplies. Belgium, in second place, wants a report detailing the economic fallout before making a decision. 'What we're defending is a European strategy of diversification … which is already on the table,' French Energy Minister Marc Ferracci told POLITICO, referencing France's plan to replace Russian supplies with Qatari products. Advertisement The hesitation runs counter to the EU's other major Russian LNG importers: Spain and the Netherlands. Both told POLITICO they are eager to back the upcoming legislation, which would end Russian gas contracts, banning short-term purchases this year and long-term contracts by 2027. In theory, that would help the countries escape contracts which will otherwise will keep them buying Russian LNG for years.
Reuters
21-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Spain, Portugal ask EU to push for power links with France after outage
BRUSSELS, May 21 (Reuters) - Spain and Portugal have asked the European Union to step in to push for more power interconnectors with France, after a massive power outage hit the Iberian Peninsula last month, a letter seen by Reuters showed. Spain and Portugal have limited power linkages to the rest of Europe and have said France has held up new interconnection projects that they say could help prevent disruptions like the unprecedented power outage that hit most of the Iberian Peninsula. Works to strengthen an existing interconnector between France and Spain are expected to wrap up this year, while a new underwater power line spanning the Bay of Biscay is set to be completed by 2028. In the letter to EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen, sent on Wednesday and seen by Reuters, Spain and Portugal's governments urged Brussels to step in to ensure new interconnection projects move ahead. "A firm political and financial commitment is needed, at all levels, in order to ensure the swift and effective integration of the Iberian Peninsula into the EU energy system," said the letter, signed by Spanish energy minister Sara Aagesen and Portuguese energy minister Maria da Graca Carvalho. "Spain and Portugal propose a ministerial meeting during this year in which, together with France and the Commission, we can agree on a roadmap with specific milestones and steps to be taken," the letter said. A European Commission spokesperson confirmed it had received the letter and was in touch with the governments. A spokesperson for France's energy minister did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter. French grid operator RTE has studied the feasibility of building two additional interconnections with Spain over the Pyrenees in its multi-annual planning document published earlier this year. RTE's planning report said it would expect the EU to contribute financing to any such upgrades, given the goal would be increased interconnection to Spain, "with the beneficiaries being located outside France." France produces most of its power from nuclear plants, while Iberia uses a bigger share of renewable sources, whose fluctuating generation increases the need for flexibility in the power grid. Iberia lags below the EU's target for countries to connect 15% of their electricity capacity to neighbouring countries by 2030 - with Iberia's share stuck at just 3%. Spain and Portugal have argued this is driving up prices, and hampering their power grids' ability to respond to disruptions. Interconnectors can help stabilise energy grids by allowing power to flow between countries to respond quickly to supply and demand fluctuations. "Accelerating the completion of electricity interconnections with the Iberian Peninsula must be placed among the highest priorities," the letter said. Power outages of the magnitude seen in Spain and Portugal last month are rare in Europe. The blackout caused massive disruptions, grounding planes and forcing hospitals to suspend routine operations. The EU is investigating its cause. A spokesperson for Spain's energy ministry and a spokesperson for Portugal's energy ministry each confirmed their ministers signed the letter.
Arab News
10-05-2025
- Business
- Arab News
New EU roadmap resets energy relationship with Russia
US President Donald Trump had pledged previously to find a solution to the Ukraine war within 24 hours of assuming office. Yet, more than 100 days into his second term, the conflict continues, with no end in sight and key players in Europe now planning for a potentially 'long game' ahead. This development coincides with the 25th anniversary on Wednesday of Vladimir Putin's first election win as Russian president. A quarter of a century on, Putin's rule looks likely to continue into the medium term at least, even if his hold on power sometimes seems fragile. He may even break Joseph Stalin's record of around three decades in office during the time of the Soviet Union. In this context, and with uncertainty over US policy, despite the recently agreed US-Ukraine minerals deal, Europe is planning with a longer-term horizon. Not only might the Ukraine war endure for months, possibly even years, there is also a possibility that Putin could remain Russian president into the 2030s. Since European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen began her second five-year term in December, some key decisions on Russia have been repeatedly postponed. Most notably, a plan to end all Russian energy imports to the EU by 2027 was delayed twice this year before its eventual release on Tuesday. The plan's release this week may, therefore, prove hugely important. European Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgenson said 'no more will we permit Russia to weaponize energy against us. No more will we allow our member states to be blackmailed. No more will we indirectly help fill up the war chest in the Kremlin.' He highlighted that last year EU countries still paid about €23 billion ($26 billion) to Russia for energy. Moreover, so far in 2025, the EU has imported over €5 billion of Russian energy, according to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Key measures and time frames, in what is now intended as a big last push to end the bloc's reliance on Russian fossil fuels and nuclear materials, are very ambitious in the period to 2027. The plan rests heavily on the EU's political will, and this will be fortified with several legislative proposals for implementation in coming months. Monitoring and enforcement of measures will also be stepped up with EU legislation, which will be adopted by qualified majority voting, not unanimity which would give outsized power to states with sympathy to Moscow, including Hungary. There will also be new rules to improve traceability and transparency of Russian energy flows. Much progress has been made since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Andrew Hammond One of the key policies that will help reduce European dependence on Russia is increasing energy supplies from the Middle East. Since 2022, for instance, 22 European energy deals have been announced with the UAE, 11 with Qatar, four with Saudi Arabia and two with Oman. To be sure, much progress has already been made since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This includes the RePowerEU plan by scaling up use of clean energy, while also saving on energy consumption. This has helped generate, at times, more EU-wide electricity from wind and solar sources than from gas. Even within a year of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Russia had lost its mantle as the biggest energy supplier to the EU. Moreover, the bloc has since reduced by two-thirds its dependence on Russian pipeline gas plus ended imports of the country's seaborne oil and coal. However, there has not been close to a clean break yet, hence the perceived need in Brussels for Tuesday's plan. The repeated delays to the eventually released document have been slammed by critics. For instance, MEP Beata Szydło even asserted that the postponements were 'reached without proper inter-service consultation, and even without the participation of DG ENER management.' Fast forward from December, and the timing on Tuesday's announcement coincides with renewed interest in Russian pipeline gas. This includes speculation that the Trump team in Washington might lift sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and other Russian energy initiatives transporting energy to Europe. So Jorgenson is right that the new roadmap is 'not without consequences' and will need to be delivered 'in a coordinated way' across the EU. Policy success will be a key test now of the second von der Leyen commission's political will, while balancing this with much wider strategic goals. This includes an EU desire not to become over-reliant on any other single energy supplier, including the US, which, under the Trump administration, is perceived by many in the bloc to have become a less reliable ally. There are also wider, key strategic issues. First, a renewed mega-priority for the commission is enhancing economic competitiveness, including via cheaper energy costs. Gas prices in Europe are often multiples of those in the US. Yet, the new plan will completely cut off access to potentially significantly cheaper Russian energy, at least as long as Putin stays in office. While Putin holds the reins, which seems possible now till at least the 2030 Russian presidential election, Moscow will be seen by much of Europe as a pariah state. Of course, this could change dramatically if a new, reforming, pro-Western leadership comes into power. However, some significant EU sanctions against Russia may remain for as long as Putin remains in the Kremlin, even if the Ukraine war ends. Before Russia invaded, Western sanctions were already in place for violations of international law, including the 2014 annexation of Crimea. • Andrew Hammond is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics.
NHK
07-05-2025
- Business
- NHK
EU says it will end dependency on Russian energy supplies
The European Union has announced plans to end its dependency on Russian energy imports. The European Commission, the EU's executive body, says the move will include a ban on imports of natural gas from the country by the end of 2027. EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen said on Tuesday the necessary legislation will be submitted as early as next month. He said, "Putin has shown that he doesn't mind weaponizing gas. We should not put ourselves in a vulnerable situation like that again. We do not want to fill up his war chest and support his war economy." The EU banned imports of Russian coal after the country's invasion of Ukraine, but it continued importing natural gas and other forms of energy. The EU says Russian gas accounted for about 20 percent of its total imports of the fuel last year. The EU rules will prohibit the signing of new contracts to bring in both pipeline and liquefied natural gas from Russia. Existing short-term supply contracts will be terminated by the end of this year, and the commission says it plans legal measures to cancel long-term contracts. The legislation includes tariffs on imports of Russian enriched uranium used in nuclear power plants.
