The European Commission has unveiled a €195 billion proposal to halt the imports of Russian fossil fuels by 2027, Reuters has reported.
The news agency said that the draft measures will combine a faster rollout of renewable energy and energy savings.
“The draft measures, which could change before they are due to be published next week, include a mix of EU laws, non-binding schemes, and recommendations national governments could take up, including by revising their plans to spend the EU's huge COVID-19 recovery fund to free up more funding for the energy transition,” reported Reuters.
Tensions between countries in Europe and Russia heightened on Thursday with Russia imposing sanctions on a number of companies that import its gas.
On Thursday Russia reduced natural gas supplies to Germany in retaliation over Europe’s sanctions over the war in Ukraine. Germany is the largest buyer of Russian gas, which accounts for about 35% of the country’s supplies.
In a report by Euractiv, goals being debated include a target for a 45% share of renewable energy by 2030, replacing the current 40% proposal, and a 13% cut in EU-wide energy consumption by 2030 compared with expected use, replacing the Commission’s current 9% proposal.
The news agency said among other proposals would be tweaks to EU law to fast-track permitting deadlines for some renewable energy projects, and new EU schemes to jumpstart a large-scale rollout of solar energy and rebuild Europe’s solar manufacturing industry.
EU’s €195 billion package to cut Russian oil and gas ties
