EU Court of Auditors warns: The exit from Russian gas and oil is in danger of failing

The EU is in danger of missing its goal of becoming independent of fossil energy from Russia. The European Court of Auditors comes to this conclusion in a new study. The EU states have therefore invested far too little in alternatives to oil and gas from Russia.

To make the exit possible, the EU launched the RePowerEU program in 2022 - shortly after the start of the Ukraine war. The aim was to gradually end the import of fossil fuels from Russia. In 2025, the EU also decided on a permanent ban on Russian gas imports, which is due to come into force in 2027.

However, just a few months before the December 31 deadline for LNG, the effort has stalled. The auditors criticize that EU funding contributes little to the exit from Russian oil and gas. In addition, there are not enough incentives for investments in clean energy and cross-border networks.

The auditors found that REPowerEU has hardly been used by EU countries so far. The member states have only budgeted 54.3 billion euros of the 300 billion euros earmarked for REPowerEU. The audit report states that there is no effective control for the exit from Russian energy.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in particular has repeatedly called for an exit from Russian energy. This will not only contribute to energy policy independence, said von der Leyen, but also help to empty Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin's “war chest”.

New numbers speak a different language. Imports of pipe gas from Russia have fallen dramatically since 2022. However, the EU has not become independent: it is now increasingly importing liquefied gas from the USA, but also from Russia, as the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (Nupi) reports.

The share of LNG from Russia in EU imports rose from 16 percent in the first half of last year to 19 percent in the first half of the current year. There are no signs of a trend reversal. Given the empty gas storage facilities, demand for LNG is likely to continue to rise - liquid gas from Russia remains in demand.