EU leader hails agreement on plan to slash dependence on Russian gas

ISTANBUL

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday welcomed a political agreement on REPowerEU, a plan to cut dependence on Russian gas by two-thirds through new investments.

"As Europe is turning its back on Russian gas, REPowerEU is our plan for securing a clean energy future," Von der Leyen said on Twitter.

"This agreement unlocks significant resources to roll out our plan, for the benefit of the whole EU," she continued.

The plan is meant to slash demand for Russian gas by two-thirds by mobilizing up to €300 billion ($318.9 billion) in investments.

In a recent report, the International Energy Agency said that the EU faces a potential shortfall of 27 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2023 in a scenario in which gas deliveries from Russia drop to zero and China’s LNG imports rebound to 2021 levels.

This gap can be closed through additional actions on energy efficiency, renewables, heat pumps, energy savings, and gas supplies, it added.