Europe's plan to halt all imports of Russian fossil fuels is faltering as member states commit only a fraction of the funds needed to fill the gap in energy supplies with renewables, according to a report by the European Court of Auditors on Wednesday.
The report warns that the initiative is failing to deliver overall, as renewed Middle East turmoil adds a further dimension to European energy security woes.
Launched in May 2022 with an estimated 300 billion euros ($349.1 billion) in funding tied to the post-pandemic Recovery and Resilience Facility, the plan received a lukewarm response nationally, it said.
Member states have committed a mere 54.3 billion euros of the available capital, according to the report. Auditors noted that this indicates either grossly overstated investment estimates or an inability to translate policy objectives into tangible action.
European gas prices hit their highest since Dec. 2022 on Wednesday and Russia was quick to seize the moment to remind Europe it could pay less for it if it imported from Russia. Europe is phasing out those imports over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
While European Union sanctions have reduced direct imports of Russian oil and gas, auditors note that much of this reduction stems from external variables like mild winters and lower demand driven by high baseline prices, rather than restructuring of energy supply.
Furthermore, the initiative has generated negligible new renewable energy capacity, despite a 103-gigawatt target and yielded almost no progress on cross-border grid interconnectivity, it said.