“To have been able to bring down our dependency to such an extent that we have is actually quite an accomplishment,” Jørgensen said, speaking from his largely as-yet-unfurnished office in the European Commission’s Berlaymont headquarters.
But “it’s obvious to everybody that something new needs to happen because … now it's beginning to go in the wrong direction,” he added, saying he would roll out “a tangible roadmap that will include efficient tools and means for us to solve the remaining part of the problem.”
Jørgensen said his plan will focus “on gas primarily, but also oil and nuclear,” and will land within the first 100 days of his taking office, effectively giving himself a mid-March deadline.
The plan represents the next step in the EU’s massive effort to change how it powers life for 450 million people after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The bloc has already imposed a blanket ban on Moscow’s seaborne coal and oil exports while slashing its dependence on pipeline gas supplies by roughly two-thirds.
But the efforts have plateaued in recent months. In 2024, the EU is even expected to import roughly 10 percent more LNG from Russia than in 2023, according to the commodities platform Kpler.
Efforts to tackle these remaining links won’t be easy.