EU wants less dependence on Russian energy
November 29th, 2008 - Posted in energy policyHELSINKI, Finland (AP) — The European Union’s enlargement chief says Europe should become less dependent on Russia for energy.
Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn says the 27-member bloc must improve energy efficiency and increase the use of renewable energy to make it less dependent on Russian oil and gas. He says the EU also must make European energy markets more efficient.
Rehn said Friday that “using such methods, we can produce more efficient energy and reduce Europe’s dependence on Russia.”
He was speaking on the sidelines of a Pan-European Institute conference on “Energy Challenges in Northern Europe” in the southwestern Finnish city of Turku.
The EU gets about a third of its oil and about 40 percent of its natural gas imports from Russia.
