The European Union has only recently begun to become a more energy self-sufficient bloc.
The reduction in gas imports from Russia – from 40% to 8% – following the massive invasion of Ukraine was largely offset by countries like the United States and Norway, rather than by the domestic production, as re-elected European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen aims to secure more liquefied natural gas from the United States.
The EU’s limited self-sufficiency is described as a “critical vulnerability” by the European Council on Foreign Relations, which gave the EU a score of 4.0 out of 10 in its Energy Sovereignty Index. on “energy independence”.
Most member states scored below 5.0, with countries like Germany, Italy, Greece, Ireland and Portugal moving closer to zero energy independence.
Norway and the United States are the main suppliers, Russia retains a significant share
The United States is currently the largest supplier of oil (17.1%) and liquefied natural gas (47.4%) to the EU, while Norway remains the largest supplier of natural gas (46.6%) .
Russia still accounts for 17.3% of natural gas supplies and 17.7% of liquefied natural gas supplies, according to Eurostat.
EU thrives on clean energy transition efforts
The EU excels in clean energy, with an average score of 8.1, up from 7.3 last year.
The Nordic and Baltic countries, as well as Portugal, Croatia and Austria, are at the top, while Poland, the Czech Republic and Malta are the only countries to score below 6.0.
Sweden and Denmark had the highest scores, with 10 out of 10.
Romania rises to first place in the general ranking of the energy index
The European Council on Foreign Relations’ overall Energy Index ranking also takes into account factors such as energy efficiency and storytelling, which reflect how effectively a country is emphasizing its energy transition efforts. abandonment of fossil fuels.
Finland tops the rankings with an overall score of 8.8, followed by Estonia and Romania, who both score 8.2. The EU average is 6.6.
Romania, in particular, has implemented ambitious energy projects, including offshore gas drilling, wind turbines, an increase in nuclear capacity and investments in renewable energy.
Malta, Belgium, Ireland, Bulgaria and Lithuania – at the bottom of the table – were classified as “latecomers”as these countries are heavily dependent on energy imports and face significant difficulties in making progress in other areas.
