When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, it became clear that the EU needed alternative ways to secure its energy supply.

At the time of the invasion, almost half of the EU’s gas imports came from Russia, which used this overdependence as a weapon to try to harm the European economy and weaken support for Ukraine.

Since the adoption of the REPowerEU Plan in May 2022, the EU has drastically reduced imports of Russian fossil fuels and diversified its energy supply.

EU sanctions have banned the import of Russian crude oil and refined petroleum products by sea, as well as Russian coal.

Russian gas imports have also decreased, putting the EU on track to eliminate them entirely in the coming years.

In response to the challenges and disruption to the global energy market caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Commission continues to implement the REPowerEU Plan, which aims to phase out imports of Russian fossil fuels.

The REPowerEU Plan is helping the EU to:

• save energy;

• diversify energy supply;

• produce clean energy.

Following the Plan – and among the flagship initiatives in the European Commission’s 2025 Work Programme – is the REPowerEU Roadmap, which will set out a timeline and specific measures to end the EU’s dependence on Russian energy sources and accelerate the adoption of renewable energy.

In this context, potential measures have also been considered to ensure the EU’s energy security and mitigate extreme price volatility.

The presentation of the initiative, expected later this week, had initially been scheduled for the end of March.

Disruptions to energy supply caused by geopolitical tensions, cyberattacks, deliberate attacks or extreme weather events threaten price affordability and the safety and stability of populations.

In short, the Roadmap aims to strengthen the resilience of the EU’s energy system, with the European Commission aiming to phase out Russian gas, oil and coal by 2027.

At the Energy Council of the European Union on 17 March, several ministers stressed the need for the Roadmap to be presented as soon as possible.

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