At the same time as supplying arms and aid to Ukraine, the European Union continues to buy oil and gas from Russia, pumping over €200 billion into Moscow’s war chest since the invasion of Ukraine.
While the European Union’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels has declined by over 90% since 2021, with coal imports having been banned completely in August 2022, the amount paid from EU members for Russian oil and gas dwarfs the amount supplied as humanitarian and military aid, even by many of the countries that have supported Ukraine.
Land-locked Hungary and Slovakia, wh have both opposed a ban on Russian fossil fuel imports, are the only countries that have continued to receive Russian oil via pipeline through an EU exemption. However, countries including France, Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Croatia, Romania, Portugal have all increased imports of Russian gas in the past year and serve as gateways to the rest of Europe, with Germany being a major consumer.
The imports are being carried out mainly by European companies tied into long-term take-or-pay contracts, in which they are obliged to pay for the gas whether it’s delivered or not, and which the Russians would otherwise sell to another buyer. The only way they could avoid that obligation would be if the EU were to impose sanctions on all Russian fossil fuel imports, but this would require all members states to agree.
