Has Europe Really Reduced Its Energy Dependence on Russia by 2024?

Has Europe Really Reduced Its Energy Dependence on Russia by 2024? Daria Vereneva

Europe is seeking to reduce its energy dependence on Russia by looking for alternative routes and suppliers. However, LNG imports in the first half of the year alone grew by 30%, reaching almost 2 billion euros.

Gas imports from Russia to Europe

Before the full-scale invasion, natural gas imports from Russia were at the level of 41% of the total gas volume (liquefied and pipeline) in the EU, energy market expert Oksana Ishchuk noted during a conversation with 24 Channel.

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• The main importers of pipeline gas from Russia remain Hungary and Slovakia.
• As for Russian liquefied gas, the main importers are Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain.

How the LNG market bypasses sanctions

European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson notes that the European LNG market allows for bypassing some sanctions, which creates a difficult situation.

Kadri Simson

European Commissioner for Energy

It is not always possible to establish whether gas comes from Russia or from another country.

During LNG deliveries, it is difficult to track the final destination of the gas, since LNG is mixed with other sources and becomes part of the overall energy balance of Europe.

Oksana Ishchuk

Executive Director of the Center for Globalistics “Strategy XXI”

The ban on the transshipment of Russian liquefied gas at European LNG terminals was introduced in June 2024 by the fifteenth sanctions package, which only prohibits its re-export to third countries, but a complete ban on the import of Russian liquefied gas to the EU is necessary.

Bloomberg Opinion energy expert Javier Blas emphasizes that Europe is facing a paradox: on the one hand, countries are trying to get rid of their dependence on Russian gas, but on the other, they are forced to continue purchasing it for economic reasons.

So in September of this year, Russia again became the largest supplier of gas to Europe, increasing its share to 23.74% of imports.

Please note! Russia receives about $12 billion in profits per year from oil and gas exports through Ukraine alone.

Is gas really the largest source of income?

Despite the numerous sanctions packages imposed by the G7 and EU countries, the sanctions are insufficient. Russia receives its main income from energy exports from crude oil, not gas. Therefore, it is necessary to block Russian tankers in the Baltic Sea, – notes Oksana Ishchuk.

According to Eurostat, the share of oil imports from Russia fell from 18% in the third quarter of 2022 to 2% in the third quarter of 2024. The Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia have received an exception for receiving Russian oil through the Southern Branch of the Druzhba pipeline.

The Czech Republic is preparing to completely abandon Russian oil by June 2025 thanks to the expansion of the TAL oil pipeline from Germany.

Slovakia and Hungary need to diversify their imports of Russian oil and stop providing them with an exception from the oil sanctions package, says Ishchuk.

The material was created with the participation of CFI, Agence française de développement médias, as part of the Hub Bucharest Project with the support of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.