Reducing Europe's Dependence on Russian Gas: Unveiling the Methods That Halted Putin's Gas Pipelines
In recent years, there has been a noticeable change in Eastern Europe's gas market, with Russia no longer dominating the region as it once did. This shift is the result of various factors, including political decisions and infrastructure challenges.
The European Union (EU) has been actively working towards reducing its dependence on Russian energy, with a plan set in place to achieve independence by 2027. Rather than imposing an outright ban, Brussels' strategy focuses on financing alternative energy sources. However, the infrastructure problem, such as ruptured pipelines and Ukraine controlling transit hubs, has prevented Russia from resuming exports to Europe at the same level.
The transition away from Russian gas has been uneven across the region. Some countries, like Hungary, have increased their imports from Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, while others, such as Lithuania and Estonia, had already moved away from direct imports by 2021. Finland remains heavily reliant on Russian gas, while Croatia sourced 55% of its gas from Russia in 2021 - a significant decrease from previous years.
Looking at the data from 2024, Hungary, Slovakia, and Greece were the EU countries that still imported the most Russian gas, indicating they were the least independent from Russian gas supplies. In contrast, Romania was the least dependent of the region's larger economies, with Russian gas making up just 24% of its consumption.
Poland still imported 78.3% of its gas from Russia in 2021, a figure that remains high despite the overall trend of decreasing dependence. Bulgaria, on the other hand, has shifted almost entirely to being a transit country for gas since 2022. Serbia, however, remains just as dependent on Russia today as it was in 2021, importing 89% of its gas from the country.
Not all EU members have followed the same path. Some, like the Baltic states, received around 74% of their gas supplies from Russia in 2021. Others, such as Slovakia and the Czech Republic, imported nearly 100%, while Austria, Latvia, and Slovenia got about 80% of their gas from Russia.
Despite the efforts to reduce dependence on Russian gas, the alliance still lacks a unified policy on Russian gas imports. This is evident in the fact that the EU has not sanctioned Gazprom or Gazprombank, despite largely banning Russian oil and coal imports. It was only in 2022 that Gazprombank was targeted by the UK, with the US joining in November 2024.
In 2021, Russia supplied almost half of Europe's gas. Since then, Eastern Europe's gas imports from Russia have dropped from an average of 80% to 37.6%. This shift marks a significant step towards energy independence for the region, but the journey towards complete independence is still ongoing.
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