Russia’s energy cooperation with Europe has been frozen or wasted as European countries have fallen on hard times and had poor growth prospects, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said, Reuters reported.

“Europe castrated itself bloodily and without anesthesia by refusing energy cooperation with our country,” said Medvedev, who is currently the deputy secretary of the Security Council, according to state media, quoted by Reuters.

“For some time, this cooperation is either terminated or frozen.”

Medvedev, who was president from 2008 to 2012, positioned himself as one of Russia’s most vocal hardliners.

The European Commission on Tuesday published the State of the Energy Union 2023 report, which shows how the EU has collectively and effectively responded to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and its use of energy supplies as a weapon, accelerating the transition to clean energy, diversification of supplies and energy conservation, Agerpres reports.

By the winter of 2023-2024, the EU is better prepared to ensure its energy security through well-coordinated actions to replenish gas fields, diversify energy import routes and infrastructure, invest in renewables and energy efficiency, and reduce energy demand. collectives

The main conclusions of the report on the state of the energy union: the EU has sharply reduced its dependence on Russian fossil fuels, gradually abandoning the import of coal; by reducing oil imports by 90%; by reducing gas imports from 155 billion cubic meters in 2021 to approximately 80 billion cubic meters in 2022 and to approximately 40-45 billion cubic meters in 2023; The EU has reduced gas demand by more than 18% compared to the last five years, saving approximately 53 billion cubic meters of gas.

In addition, gas storage was filled to 95% of capacity by the winter of 2022-2023 and is now more than 98% of capacity ahead of the coming winter, and the EU Energy Platform organized three rounds of purchases in the gas pool, gathering demand of 44 .75 billion cubic meters and matching it with supply offers for 52 billion cubic meters. 2022 was a record year for new solar PV capacity (up 41 GW), up 60% from 2021 (+26 GW), and new onshore and offshore wind capacity was 45% higher than in 2021.

Last but not least, 39% of electricity was generated from renewable sources in 2022, while in May wind and solar overtook fossil fuels in EU electricity production for the first time.

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced the European Union and its member states to reassess the importance of strengthening energy sovereignty. EU member states have so far considered this problem through the prism of access to energy resources, mainly to ensure security of supply. But today’s geopolitical uncertainty and the threat of climate change show that decision-makers need to better understand energy sovereignty, including the role of green energy and the promotion of efficient energy use,” says expert Shimon Kardas.