BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission has, for a second time, delayed an announcement of its plan to phase out the region’s reliance on Russian energy imports from March 26 to an unspecified date, a schedule showed on Wednesday.
The Commission declined to comment on a new date.
Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said in November at a parliamentary hearing that he would present the plan during his first 100 days in the post, but this has now been pushed back twice. The plan was first slated to be announced in February.
The EU set itself a non-binding goal to end Russian natural gas imports by 2027 after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. However, some member states have done little to diversify and Russian gas imports rose last year.
The 27-member bloc faces the difficult task of balancing energy security while lowering prices to keep its industries competitive with rivals in China and the United States, where energy costs are several times lower.
The Commission plans to announce an extension of gas storage targets later on Wednesday. Some critics say the targets risk pushing up already high gas prices and should be made flexible.
(Reporting by Julia Payne; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
