The EU is still paying putin billions for gas and oil

russia's full-scale war against Ukraine is approaching its third anniversary, but Europe still maintains significant ties with the aggressor state in the energy sector.

The publication notes that the “notoriously pro-russian governments” of Hungary and Slovakia are not the only ones in Europe that still rely on russian energy. France, Austria, and Spain also continue to pay significant amounts of money to russia.

The authors of the publication recognize that EU countries, and especially Germany, have indeed done much to reduce their energy dependence on russia. In general, imports of russian fossil fuels have fallen by 94%, from $16 billion a month to about $1 billion a month. For example, coal imports have completely stopped. But EU countries still buy energy from russia and thus pay directly into putin's military budget.

The authors of the publication explain Europe's reluctance to give up russian gas not by the lack of alternatives (there are some), but by the desire to profit from cheap russian gas. 

The oil sanctions against moscow also have their exceptions. Crude oil from russia continues to flow to Hungary and Slovakia via pipelines. On a smaller scale, Belgium, Austria, and the Czech Republic buy it.

In addition, petroleum products derived from russian oil often enter the EU through third countries. According to statistics, in 9 months of 2024, the EU countries imported 12.3 million tons of petroleum products from India, China, and Turkey. At least 4.8 million tons of them were derived directly from russian oil.

Finally, russia is still the dominant supplier of nuclear fuel and technology for most of Europe's nuclear power generation.

“Given the humanitarian tragedy in Ukraine and the geopolitical consequences of the war, Europe should accelerate the formulation of clear guidelines and earlier timelines for phasing out all russian energy imports,” Foreign Policy concludes.

Source: Foreign Policy