Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, MEPs discuss energy security and the recent cuts to gas supply to Poland and Bulgaria. Opening statement by by Kadri SIMSON, European Commissioner for Energy. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

European solidarity and energy security in face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and recent cuts of gas supply to Poland and Bulgaria: opening statement by Kadri SIMSON, European Commissioner for Energy

SOUNDBITE (English), Kadri SIMSON, European Commissioner for Energy, Honourable Members, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Thank you for inviting me to speak today. Three weeks ago, Russia got gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria making their the threat of losing gas and fossil fuel supplies to the whole EU more tangible. This shows again that Russia is not a reliable trading partner.

SOUNDBITE (English), Kadri SIMSON, European Commissioner for Energy, Yesterday, the Commission presented RepowerEU Plan to phase out Russian fossil fuels from our system and replace them with stable, affordable, clean energy. To open up the session, I will give you some concrete details included in the Repower EU plan. First, I want to mention infrastructure. This is the time to implement many long pending projects with a particular focus on cross-border connexions to build an integrated energy market that secures supply in a spirit of solidarity.

SOUNDBITE (English), Kadri SIMSON, European Commissioner for Energy, TEN-E has and will continue to play an important role to achieve this goal. Repower EU shows that it will be possible to fully compensate the equivalent of Russian gas imports by a combination of demand reduction and increase of domestic production of bio gas, hydrogen and other renewables and limited additions of infrastructure.

SOUNDBITE (English), Kadri SIMSON, European Commissioner for Energy, Gas storage will be key part of this plan. And just an hour ago, we achieved agreement between co-legislators on gas storage obligation proposal, and I am immensely grateful for members of Parliament and French Presidency for a very constructive approach, because this crucial piece of legislation helps us to be better prepared for the situation where there will be full disruption of Russian gas flows.

SOUNDBITE (English), Kadri SIMSON, European Commissioner for Energy, But of course we will also boost the transition to renewables and accelerate the European Green Deal. Until now, we have been climate leaders across the globe, but this shift in gear means we will be able to leapfrog even faster towards sustainability, energy independence and more local industry.

SOUNDBITE (English), Kadri SIMSON, European Commissioner for Energy, To do this, we have proposed to increase the share of renewables in our energy mix to 45% by 2030. To achieve this goal, we need unprecedented actions at unprecedented speed. That brings me to the elephant in the room. This is permitting, and we have to make this process shorter. We have to streamline as much as possible. And of course, while we can give recommendations to the member states, but at this current geopolitical context, we need to do much more.

SOUNDBITE (English), Kadri SIMSON, European Commissioner for Energy, And therefore, I propose to amend the Renewable Energy Directive to give Member States the right tools to significantly accelerate the process. To do this, we introduce a goal to areas where permitting procedures would be done much faster, taking no more than one year. And let me be clear this will not come at the expense of the environment.

SOUNDBITE (English), Kadri SIMSON, European Commissioner for Energy, And for solar energy deployment on existing building structures, we are proposing a three month permitting process. With a solar strategy proposed yesterday, we aim to double solar PV capacity by 2025 already, and to ensure the availability of the skilled workforce we will establish EU large scale skills partnership.

SOUNDBITE (English), Kadri SIMSON, European Commissioner for Energy, We also want more of the solar panels to be manufactured here in the EU and we will launch the European Solar Industry Alliance to facilitate that. Of course, more efficient use of energy goes hand in hand with cheaper and renewable energy, and there is no cheaper and more secure energy than the one that we do not use. So today's security concerns and energy prices, the case for investing in energy efficiency has never been stronger.

SOUNDBITE (English), Kadri SIMSON, European Commissioner for Energy, While most of the Russian gas will be replaced by renewables and savings, 155 BCM of gas cannot be phased out overnight in the earlier stages of the shift. We need to diversify supplies to make up this shortfall and we will need to secure around 50 BCM of LNG and then be some of additional pipeline gas annually from non-Russian sources. Intense work on this has been going on since last autumn and they have yielded results.

SOUNDBITE (English), Kadri SIMSON, European Commissioner for Energy, So April broke the monthly LNG deliveries record again with 12.6 PCM. Sustaining this level throughout the year would put us well on track to reach an additional 50 BCM. At the same time, by blend gas supply from Russia went down to 26% of EU gas consumption this April compared to 40%. This was a level last year.

SOUNDBITE (English), Kadri SIMSON, European Commissioner for Energy, To maintain the momentum, we have set up the EU energy platform to aggregate the demand for those who want to join, to coordinate the use of infrastructure and reach out to our global partners both for gas and hydrogen. The first regional task force was set up in Sofia on 5th of May, and others will follow.

SOUNDBITE (English), Kadri SIMSON, European Commissioner for Energy, As a strong signal of support to our close neighbours, the platform will also be open to Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and the Western Balkan countries. After joint statement, the United States and Canada will continue to reach political agreement for LNG deliveries, also with other partners. Speaking of our international partners, yesterday we also adopted our new external energy strategy.

SOUNDBITE (English), Kadri SIMSON, European Commissioner for Energy, Russia's aggression against Ukraine has had the unintended consequence of deeper cooperation between the EU and our partners. We intend to build long term energy partnerships that go beyond their immediate energy security needs. For example, by extending cooperation on gas, to renewable hydrogen, or tackling methane emissions.

SOUNDBITE (English), Kadri SIMSON, European Commissioner for Energy, And as we've been ourselves off Russian imports, we want to avoid simply creating another dependency elsewhere. So we will continue to establish partnerships on critical raw materials. The strategy also renews our commitment to Ukraine and other close neighbours closely affected by that war.

SOUNDBITE (English), Kadri SIMSON, European Commissioner for Energy, We will continue to provide energy supplies and work towards making electricity trade in Ukraine possible in the near future. The Commission will also launch the Repower Ukraine Initiative to rebuild a clean and modern energy system after the war.

SOUNDBITE (English), Kadri SIMSON, European Commissioner for Energy, Ladies and gentlemen. All these different strands of our work in the end reached the same destination. It is clear that the green transition is the only way to be the masters of the EU energy system and to provide secure, sustainable and affordable energy for the EU and the world.

SOUNDBITE (English), Kadri SIMSON, European Commissioner for Energy, This remains our ultimate goal, given the urgency and unpredictability of current events, we would need to move quickly to that goal legislative process, and I'm counting on your support to move this proposal forward. Thank you for your attention. And I am looking for questions.

European solidarity and energy security in face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and recent cuts of gas supply to Poland and Bulgaria: opening statement by Kadri SIMSON, European Commissioner for Energy

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