European Commission reveals how much gas the EU still buys from Russia

The European Union still imports about 13% of its gas from Russia and the European Commission is preparing legislation to encourage member states to phase it out.

During the European Commission's daily briefing, European Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen responded to questions regarding some countries’ continued reliance on Russian gas.

She stated that since the start of Russia’s full-scale war, the EU has been consistently working to reduce its dependence on Russian energy and has significantly diversified its supply sources.

"We have cut all Russian coal imports, most Russian oil imports and over two-thirds of Russian gas imports under the Repower EU plan," Itkonen recalled.

However, she acknowledged that Russian gas is still entering the European market and the Commission is working on new legislation to help member states move away from it.

"In fact, we are still importing 13% of our gas from Russia. This means that billions of euros fillings up Putin’s war chest… There are no excuses for this. There are no security or supply reasons for this. The global LNG market is flexible and well-supplied. This gives rise to a concern and this is the reason why the Commission is taking action to present a roadmap to phase out completely the imports from Russia," she said. 

This week, EU ambassadors approved the bloc’s 16th package of sanctions against Russia.

Poland, which currently holds the EU presidency, aims to have the new sanctions package adopted on 24 February, marking the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Reports suggest that the package will target Russia’s aluminium industry and oil exports.