The EU wants to vastly reduce Russian gas imports this year, a top official said Tuesday, as political pressure mounts to sever Russia's main economic lifeline over its invasion of Ukraine. In the US, President Joe Biden said he intends to put a stop to Russian oil imports, and Britain's minister responsible for energy, Kwasi Kwarteng, has announced that the UK wants to phase out Russian oil imports "by the end of 2022".
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said it could erase a huge share of its dependency on Russia by tapping new gas supplies, ramping up reserves for next winter and accelerating efforts to be more energy efficient.
"By the end of this year, we can replace 100 billion cubic metres of gas imports from Russia. That is two-thirds of what we import from them now," EU Commission vice president Frans Timmermans told reporters in Strasbourg, France.
"This will end our over-dependency and give us much needed room to manoeuvre," added Timmermans, who leads EU policy-making on energy and climate change.
Now, we take it to the next level.
— Frans Timmermans (@TimmermansEU) March 8, 2022
By the end of this year, we can replace 100 bcm of gas imports from Russia. That is two-thirds of what we import from them. This will end our over-dependence and give us much needed room to maneuver.
In its plan, the EU said the bloc could become fully independent of Russian gas, oil and coal by 2030.
Timmermans urged caution: Russia supplies 40 percent of the EU's gas needs, with Italy, Germany and several central European countries especially dependent. A quarter of its oil supply also comes from Russia.
This reliance has led EU nations to push back against calls by Kyiv and Washington to severely sanction Russia's energy sector as Western allies seek more ways to hit Russia harder for its actions in Ukraine.
"The reality is that there's quite a number of our member states who would get into real trouble if, overnight, all the energy would no longer be provided from Russia," Timmermans told MEPs earlier.
"So we need to make sure...we don't do more harm to ourselves than we do to Putin," he added.
The proposal, which is not binding, calls for 90 percent of gas storage capacity to be filled by September 30, up from about 30 percent now.
Punish Moscow
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden announced a ban on US imports of Russian oil on Tuesday, in the administration's most far-reaching action yet to punish Moscow for invading Ukraine.
"We're banning all imports of Russian oil and gas and energy. That means Russian oil will no longer be acceptable at US ports and the American people will deal another powerful blow to (President Vladimir) Putin," Biden said in an address from the White House, adding that the decision was taken "in close consultation" with allies.
NEW: Biden says U.S. is banning imports of Russian oil, gas, and energy https://t.co/nFZxOUkRrr pic.twitter.com/5yNEkZbago
— Bloomberg (@business) March 8, 2022
The ban came with Democrats threatening legislation to force Biden's hand despite the likely impact on already soaring gas prices.
EU member states think that a European import ban on Russian oil is a step too far for the Europeans, who fear that the economic consequences would be too severe.
Britain wants to get rid of Russian oil too
Coinciding with Biden's announcement, Britain said Tuesday it would phase out Russian oil imports by the end of this year, in line with new sanctions announced by the United States following the invasion of Ukraine.
"This transition will give the market, businesses and supply chains more than enough time to replace Russian imports - which make up 8.0 percent of UK demand," Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng tweeted.
The oil sanction does not apply to Russian natural gas, which accounts for some four percent of UK supply. But Kwarteng said he was "exploring options to end this altogether".
JUST IN: The U.K. will phase out imports of Russian oil by the end of 2022, Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng confirms, adding the government is also "exploring options" to end use of Russian gas https://t.co/AiQHrDdF3K pic.twitter.com/XOMq3wGNvu
— Bloomberg UK (@BloombergUK) March 8, 2022
It risks exacerbating a cost-of-living crisis in Britain, with prices of petrol and diesel already surging amid market turmoil following energy-rich Russia's aggression against Ukraine.
But Kwarteng said most of Britain's crude oil imports come from "reliable partners" such as the United States, the Netherlands and Gulf states.
"We'll work with them this year to secure further supplies," he said.
Oil prices through the roof
As a result of the series of announcements, the price of crude saw a brutal surge.
While remaining below Monday's peak of $139.13 per barrel (€127,19), the main international oil contract, Brent, jumped 6.8 percent to $131.63 (€120,33).
The main US contract, WTI, rose by 6.7 percent to $127.44 (€116,50) per barrel.
(With AFP)
