EU's Russian energy exit faltering, auditors say

By Kate Abnett

BRUSSELS, Sept 9 (Reuters) - EU efforts to become independent from Russian oil and gas are faltering, just as the 27-country bloc heads into winter with unusually low gas stocks, its auditors said on Wednesday.

The European Court of Auditors said in a report that the EU is not investing enough to achieve its aims of fully replacing Russian energy with diversified fossil fuel supplies, and by expanding renewable energy and grid infrastructure to increase energy flows between EU members over the next few years.

The European Union has been gradually phasing out Russian fuel imports since Moscow's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

Sanctions on seaborne Russian oil have seen the EU eliminate nearly all Russian crude imports, while the bloc now gets 12% of its gas imports from Russia, down from 45% before 2022.

Nevertheless, the EU plan to quit Russian energy "is faltering just as Europe's energy security is facing renewed threats from the turmoil in the Middle East," the auditors said.

Europe is struggling to fill gas storage ahead of winter, as the Iran war squeezes global supplies. EU gas storage caverns are just 67% full, well below the 80% level reached by this time last year, Gas Infrastructure Europe data shows.

Analysts warn this could expose countries to winter price spikes, in particular as the EU's Russian gas phaseout is due to ban all Russian LNG imports from January 1, 2027.

The auditors said the EU has replaced Russian gas partly thanks to mild weather and high energy prices reducing demand, rather than policy action. It recommended Brussels intervene more to ensure countries stay on track with the Russian exit.

A European Commission spokesperson said EU actions and funding had accelerated renewable energy projects, and contributed to a drastic reduction in Russian gas. 

"The Commission will follow up on the ECA recommendations," the spokesperson added.

The Commission initially estimated its plan to end Russian energy would require €300 billion of investments, and made this available from the EU budget.

But countries have so far committed just €54.3 billion of this, indicating that the Commission either wrongly estimated the investment needs, or that countries are struggling to execute the plan, the auditors said.  

(Reporting by Kate Abnett; Editing by Alexander Smith)