EU must increase target for energy efficiency / Money for energy imports to a blocked special account

“Renewable energies are energies of peace, freedom and democracy. We see that very clearly in the current crisis surrounding the terrible war that Putin's army is waging in Ukraine. The European Union imports gas, coal and oil worth 99 billion euros every year.[1] That is almost double the Russian military budget. Consequently, we are financing the war with our money for energy and should therefore not be afraid of blocking Russian supplies of oil, gas and coal, but should be proactive in this regard. The least that must happen is that we send the money for these deliveries to a blocked special account and only release them when the war is over. If in doubt, we have to stop the exports. I find it unbearable that Gazprom Bank is exempt from sanctions against Russian banks. We need to become more independent as soon as possible. This requires short-term compromises, e.g. more use of coal from inside the European Union or countries like South Africa. In the medium and long term, the expansion of renewable energies and more energy efficiency is the only right solution”, emphasized the environmental spokesperson of the EPP group in the European Parliament, Peter Liese.

He emphatically welcomed the proposal by his EPP group colleague Markus Pieper to increase the renewable energy target for the EU from 40 to 45 percent and called for a comparable step in the area of energy efficiency. The ENVI Committee of the European Parliament is discussing its opinion on energy efficiency this Thursday.