Europe’s heavy cost of dependency
While the European Union is developing plans to finally and completely cut itself off from Russian oil and gas supplies, the solutions it has found are less than ideal. This illustrates the challenge that Europe faces in overcoming its dependency on Russia, while at the same time not giving in to massive fossil fuel development. To make matters worse, Europe cannot escape the geopolitical dimension of fossil fuels.
September 27, 2025 -
Raze Baziani
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AnalysisIssue 5 2025MagazineMattis Körber
Much has been said in recent years about European solidarity, about unity and unwavering support for Ukraine in the face of the brutal, illegal and inhumane Russian war of aggression. And much of that is true. The European Union imposed sanctions against Russia, delivered weapons to Ukraine, and welcomed refugees. It created new funds, reallocated old budget lines, and began to see itself anew, as a geopolitical actor with security responsibilities. In the spring of 2025, the EU’s military aid to Ukraine surpassed that of the United States for the first time, a geopolitical turning point.
Yet while the EU did take a stand in this way, it left the back door wide open when it came to energy. Even in 2024, billions continued to flow into Russian fossil fuel imports, via Belgium, France or Spain, often in the form of LNG and sometimes obscured by legacy contracts. In total, the EU paid more for Russian gas, oil and coal than it gave Ukraine in direct financial assistance that same year. It is a troubling imbalance, not just morally, but strategically. Instead of supporting Kyiv with every available resource, more money, albeit indirectly, ended up bolstering Vladimir Putin’s war machine. That, at least according to the European Commission, is now meant to come to an end.
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dependency, EU, gas, Russia, sanctions 
