#EUFridays by JEF Hungary #16

EU to slash Russian gas imports- “This has to be, and will be, his Waterloo.”

The Commission’s vendetta against Putin has started and now the EU is planning to cut the reliance on Russian gas by the end of this year.

According to IEA (International Energy Agency), in 2021, 40% of the EU’s gas consumption was imported from Russia. The plan, which could make the EU wholly independent of Russian gas, originates from the EU Green Deal chief, Frans Timmermans. He believes that this step is absolutely feasible, although he admits, that it is going to be a though journey. The commissioner also added that some EU states might have to stay with coal for a bit longer, but at the same time they will have to speed up the transition of renewable. In the case of LNG (liquified natural gas) the EU reached out to Qatar, Egypt and talks are also in progress with Australia and the U.S.

The original plan is accelerating the “Fit for 55” plan by bringing forward its timetable to slash greenhouse gases. Originally, the plan includes massive electrification, expansion of renewable energy and electricity storage plus several developments of green hydrogen technology and other wide-ranging energy investments. By following these steps, the bloc’s gas consumption is expected to fall 23%. Timmermans argues that energy markets will be tight soon, therefore renewable energy is strategically the most urgent choice. Consumers are already upset because of the record energy prices, not to mention the contradiction between the peaking energy costs for consumers and the energy companies’ high incomes. These factors brought dissatisfaction among the citizens and urged the EU to come up with an immediate solution. By bringing the expectations of Green Deal to life, the EU and the Commission could gain a lot as well. They would be able to regulate energy prices on a retail level, new possibilities of state aid would open, and they could also make increased use of the ETS (Emission Trading System).

However, politicians are aware, that committing to make this happen a lot is at stake for the bloc too. Timmermans declared that after Putin’s military actions in Ukraine, we are ready to take measurements that hurt him, even if those might hurt us as well.

Official examination of bids regarding to join the EU

It is not a secret that the countries of the Associated Trio, which are Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia are longing to join the bloc for quite some time now. As Russia strikes an attack on one of the members, the urge to get the membership becomes vital for these countries.

Whilst Ukraine urges the procedure because they are hoping to secure themselves by joining, Moldova argues that the rapidly changing security landscape in the neighbouring country is a threat for its citizens. They force the EU to swiftly consider membership bids.

In general, the process of joining consists of broadly 3 stages: firstly, when a country is ready it becomes an official candidate for membership, then it moves on to formal membership negotiations. This step involves the adoption of established EU law, further preparations, and implementation of judicial, administrative, economic, and other types of reforms. This process is also known as the accession criteria. If these demands are fulfilled, then the joining can be completed. However, given the current military tension in Ukraine and near the borders of the two other candidates, the countries are applying for the fast-track procedure which will provide an immediate membership for them. The instability at the borders and the ongoing attacks, make the prime ministers impatient.

“We want to live in peace, prosperity and be part of the free world.”-said the Moldovan president, Maia Sandu. Moscow still has a military base and stockpiles of munitions in the Moldovan capital, Chisinau.

Although, helping these countries to develop their democratic standards has been on the table for the EU for a long time now, diplomats question the capacity of the bloc to absorb new states. Another issue is the strict accession criteria and the major reforms that these countries must undergo if they want to be official members. EU leaders may discuss broader implications of the three requests next week, in Paris.

Denmark to hold referendum on scrapping EU defence opt-out

Russia’s invasion on Ukraine made the EU to drop the taboos about defence, that were avoided before the tension. Now that the security of the continent is instable, many countries started revaluating their standpoints in the matter.

Even Finland, Sweden and Switzerland who are traditionally known as no-aligned countries and famous for their neutrality, declare their opinions in the matter by sanctioning the Kremlin and delivering arms to Ukraine. After 30 years of complete standoff in foreign military actions, Denmark raises voice against Putin’s barbarism and decides to hold a referendum to join the Common Security and Defence Policy. The defence policy enables the EU to take a leading role in peace-keeping operations and conflict prevention, however, up until this moment, the CSDP was mainly about industrial cooperation and procurement rather than building an actual army. However, historic times call for historic decisions-says the Danish PM Mette Frederiksen, who calls on the citizens to lift the opt-out on defence. She pledged to make the “largest investment in recent years” by increasing defence spending by approximately 780M £ over the next two years. Danish parties all agreed that “Denmark has to become independent on Russian gas as soon as possible” and they are all convinced that it is high time to reconsider the opt-out. The voting will take place on the 1st of June.