Russia’s decision to turn off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria shows that it is an unreliable trading partner, the EU energy commissioner told the European Parliament on Thursday.
Addressing the parliament, Kadri Simson said the decision will be felt by the whole continent and stressed the need for a new European energy policy. In this context, she mentioned the European Commission’s REPowerEU plan, which is presented on Wednesday, which aims to switch the bloc from Russian hydrocarbons to clean energy.
“Three weeks ago, Russia cut gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, making the threat of losing Russian fossil fuel supplies to the whole EU more tangible,” she said. “This shows again that Russia is not a reliable trading partner. Yesterday the Commission presented the REPowerEU plan to phase out Russian fossil fuels from our system, and replace them with stable, affordable clean energy.”
Russia’s recent suspension of gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria came in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, which both countries strongly oppose. Poland has been one of the main voices calling for strict economic sanctions on Moscow.
We have to end our dependency on Russian fossil fuels. And we see that the economic benefits of ending our dependency will be much greater than the short-term cost of #REPowerEU!
Read my full speech from the announcement of the package here⬇️https://t.co/OQUsRjnAFa pic.twitter.com/waWdcTp1PG
— Kadri Simson (@KadriSimson) May 18, 2022