The document notes, however, that 170 billion cubic meters of new LNG capacity should be put online worldwide by 2027, including a doubling of North American capacity.
The plan also underlines that the executive of the EU will increase efforts to electrify its economy and plan to develop a platform for companies to buy supplies like biomethane jointly, in order to replace traditional natural gas supplies.
Nuclear is close
The new plan also targets the persistent nuclear links of the block with Moscow, which provides a fifth of the raw Uranium in the EU and 38% of its enrichment capacity. Five countries – Finland, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic – still count on Russian reactors.
To break this dependence, Brussels will present a new legal bill next month, which makes Uranium enriched by Russia “economically less viable” through commercial measures, the Planning States and separately restrict new contracts signed between the Uranium supply agency of the EU and Moscow.
It will also aim to repress the shortcomings of sanctions, including efforts to restrict the so -called fleet of the shadow of Russia – its army of aging ships with little -known insurance. The Commission said it wished to ink the new agreements with countries legally responsible for these oil tankers, which allows them to carry out “pre -authorized boarding operations” of ships.
For the moment, the recommendations of the plan are not binding and its suggestions for future proposals will require the support of a majority of EU countries before they have agreed.
And any ban on imports is likely to come up against a strong opposition, including governments of Hungary and Slovakia. Budapest and Bratislava have made efforts on several occasions to sanction the atomic and gaseous sectors of Moscow, while continuing to count on Russia for more than 80% of their oil and buying gas through Russia in Turkstream Pipeline.
EU countries are expected to discuss the proposal for the first time on Thursday.
