Initiatives at the European level to limit dependence on Russian gas are multiplying, Euronews reported on Wednesday, as reported by Rador.

Seven Baltic Sea countries – Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Denmark – have announced their commitment to increase wind energy production sevenfold by 2030 to free Northern Europe from dependence on Russian gas.

“Putin’s attempt to blackmail us with fossil fuels is failing, we are accelerating the green transition, freeing ourselves from dependence on Russian fossil fuels and accelerating towards renewable, clean, more economical energy, our own renewable energy,” said Ursula von der Leyen. , President of the European Commission.

By 2050, the wind energy capacity of the Baltic Sea can be increased to 93 gigawatts, the countries said in a statement.

The President of the European Commission notes that the European Union wants to reform the electricity market so that gas prices no longer dictate electricity prices.

Additional energy interconnections are needed in Europe, the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, emphasized during a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The latter emphasizes its strong support for a gas pipeline that would connect the Iberian Peninsula to Central Europe, while Berlin is also rushing to reduce its dependence on Russia.

“I want to emphasize once again that I am very much in favor of creating this connection. It is about improving the interconnections of the European gas network today, and in the long term about the shared use of hydrogen in Europe,” says Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany.

Russia has cut or reduced the amount of natural gas for European Union countries: Since the spring, Union leaders have asked the public to use less gas in the summer to build up storage for the winter.

Member States have proposed a voluntary reduction in gas consumption of 15% and aim to introduce mandatory reductions together in case of severe gas shortages.

France and other countries will also develop an energy sobriety plan.

“We need to use less energy at home, in transport, shops, companies, administrations. It is a collective commitment to reduce energy consumption that needs to be made,” said Bruno Le Maire, the French economy minister.

France is more protected than many European countries from rising gas prices caused by Russia’s decision to cut its exports to Europe after its invasion of Ukraine.

A good percentage of the electricity actually comes from 56 nuclear reactors, although 32 of them are currently decommissioned for scheduled maintenance or corrosion risk assessments.

___

• Follow the latest events of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HotNews.ro