Opening statement by Commissioner Jørgensen in plenary debate on Russian energy phase out, Nord Stream and the EU's energy-sovereignty

European Commission -Speech [Check Against Delivery] Opening statement by Commissioner Jørgensen in plenary debate on Russian energy phase out, Nord Stream and the EU's energy-sovereignty Brussels, 21 May 2025 Thank you President, honorable members, minister, On 6th May the European Commission adopted a Communication on the Roadmap towards ending Russian energy imports. With this Roadmap the European Union sends a very clear message to Russia: No More. No more - will Russia be able to weaponize its energy exports against us. No more - will we allow our member states to be blackmailed. No more - will we help fill up the war chest in Kremlin. Since Russia's aggression in February 2022, the EU has worked hard to stop imports of Russian energy. Before 2022, half of the coal we imported in the EU was Russian. This we have stopped completely. On oil we have gone from 27% to 3%. And finally, gas. We have gone from 45% of our gas coming from Russia in 2022 to 13% today. However, last year we still paid 23 billion euros to Russia for our energy imports. You, the European Parliament have asked us many times not to hesitate further, but to ban Russian gas imports completely. With this roadmap, we respond to this call in a clear and definitive way. We have carefully analysed the impact of the phase out on prices, security of supply, and contractual obligations, both at EU level and Member State level. The Roadmap sets out a clear and predictable framework...