EU has reduced Russian gas imports by 75%, von der Leyen says
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The EU has reduced Russian gas imports by 75%, while only 3% of its oil is imported from Russia, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan. 21.
The share of Russian coal in Europe’s imports also went from 50% before Russia’s full-scale invasion to zero by 2025, she said.
“Our gas imports from Russia went down by roughly 75% and now we import from Russia only 3% of our oil and no coal at all anymore," von der Leyen said.
Europe began to wean itself off Russian energy commodities after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine while Gazprom steadily reduced flows to the EU to pressure Ukraine’s allies.
"This (Russian) energy appeared cheap, but it exposed us to blackmail. So when (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's tanks rolled into Ukraine, Putin cut us off his gas supplies, and in return, we substantially reduced our dependency on Russian fossil fuels in record time," she added.
Kyiv's decision not to prolong a gas transit deal with Gazprom past December 2024 ended the supply of Russian pipeline gas to the EU. European countries continue buying Russian liquified natural gas, purchasing record amounts in 2024.
Moscow and Kyiv signed an agreement in 2019 to transit 40 billion cubic meters of Russian gas annually through Ukraine to buyers in the EU. Gazprom raked in an estimated $5–$6.5 billion annually from the deal.
Thousands of participants, including political leaders and CEOs, have gathered for the annual World Economic Forum in Davos this week. President Volodymyr Zelensky is also attending the forum and is expected to meet top political and business officials.
