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News article17 May 2024Directorate-General for Communication1 min read

Two years of REPowerEU: Strengthening Europe's energy resilience

The 'RePowerEU' banner on the front of the Berlaymont building

 

In May 2022, the European Commission launched the REPowerEU Plan in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its use of energy resources as an economic weapon. The Plan’s main objectives were to save energy, diversify energy supplies, and produce more clean energy for the EU.

Two years on, it is clear that REPowerEU has played a crucial role in safeguarding EU citizens and businesses from energy shortages, while also providing vital support to Ukraine by weakening Russia's war chest. Through joint efforts, Europe has not only made a massive cut in Russian energy imports but has also accelerated its transition to clean energy and stabilised prices

Key achievements:

  • Reducing natural gas consumption by 18% between August 2022 and March 2024
  • Overcoming our dependency on Russian fossil fuels – the share of gas imports coming from Russia dropped from 45% to 15% between 2021 and 2023
  • Ensuring access to secure and affordable energy
  • Producing more electricity from wind and solar than from gas for the first time, since 2022
  • Rapidly increasing renewable energy installation – reaching a record of almost 96 GW of new solar energy capacity installed and increasing wind capacity by 33 GW since 2022

As we move forward, it is evident that Europe is now stronger and more united than ever before. The Commission has mobilised close to €300 billion to fund the REPowerEU Plan with the Recovery and Resilience Facility at the heart of this funding. The EU is now on track to completely eliminate its reliance on Russian fossil fuels while continuing to advance the green transition and supporting Ukraine.

For more information

REPowerEU

Statement of President von der Leyen, Executive Vice-President Šefčovič and Commissioner Simson on the 2nd anniversary of the REPowerEU Plan

REPowerEU - 2 years on

European Green Deal visual story

Recovery and Resilience Facility

Details

Publication date
17 May 2024
Author
Directorate-General for Communication