Security of energy supply in the EU
The European Parliament adopted by 459 votes to 170, with 30 abstentions, a resolution on the security of energy supply in the EU.
A new vision for energy security in a changing global landscape
Parliament stressed that energy security is a cross-sectoral issue that underpins the functioning of all critical sectors, making it essential for economic stability, public safety, and national resilience. The current geopolitical situation and the persistence of dangerous energy supply dependencies highlight the need to rethink the concept of energy security.
According to Members, decarbonisation should take into account the specificities of Member States and their regions, including Europe's outermost territories and regions covered by the Just Transition Fund.
As the Draghi report highlights, reducing dependence on fossil fuel imports would strengthen the EU's competitiveness, affordability, and security of supply. Members noted that, for Member States that choose to include nuclear power in their energy mix, it can play an important role in an integrated energy system with increasing renewable energy penetration. They stressed the importance of assessing the full lifecycle cost of nuclear energy and the need to diversify uranium and nuclear fuel supply sources. Members also reaffirmed the importance of continued EU support for the deployment of existing renewable energy technologies, such as solar, wind, geothermal, and heat pumps.
To mitigate the risk of supplier dominance in a changing geopolitical context, Parliament believes that the Union must strengthen its international partnerships with reliable suppliers of energy, raw materials and clean technology components in all regions of the world, and in particular with the countries of the European Economic Area.
The Commission is invited to be mindful of the future needs for military capability and mobility in the development of the Union's energy system. Furthermore, it is important for the Union to seek sustainable solutions to meet the accelerating energy demand resulting from the development of the digital sector, with the energy needs of data centres and artificial intelligence systems being particularly significant.
A resilient energy infrastructure
The resolution underlined the importance of investing in new energy networks, including cross-border interconnectors and offshore grids, as well as optimising existing infrastructure to increase capacity using grid-enhancing technologies, enabling the integration of renewable energy and other new generation facilities, closing price gaps, improving overall system efficiency and fostering solidarity between Member States in the event of an energy crisis. Members stressed the need for technically sound infrastructure planning that takes into account geographical and natural characteristics while ensuring long-term viability.
Parliament encouraged Member States to speed up permitting procedures for electricity installations and networks. In the face of increasing pressure on the energy system from extreme weather events, it highlighted the need to plan for resilient energy systems, integrating climate adaptation strategies. It also stressed the need to invest in the protection and resilience of energy infrastructure against human-caused threats, such as military, hybrid and cyber attacks.
The resolution highlighted the need to strengthen the recovery aspect, which could be achieved through an efficient European repair and response mechanism and national and regional operational plans, which could serve as an important element of the EU’s deterrence strategy.
Phase out of Russian energy supplies
Stressing that the lessons learned from Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine need to be at the core of future EU actions, particularly highlighting the critical importance of a united European response in order to eliminate perilous dependencies in energy supplies.
Members are concerned that the EU still maintains its reliance on Russian gas and, moreover, has recently seen an increase, with imports rising by 18 % in 2024 and continuing to grow in 2025. They stressed the need to introduce an EU-wide ban on all Russian natural gas imports by 2027 at the latest, and on new contracts and existing spot contracts by the end of 2025. The Commission is called on to explore the use of all available transitional instruments that could lead to the end of Russian fossil fuel imports by 2027, such as the introduction of a regular quota system for Russian gas imports into the EU and the introduction of a ceiling price for Russian LNG.
Parliament strongly condemned calls for a return to Russian energy imports as part of a peace settlement in Ukraine. It strongly rejected the idea of possible certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and insisted on the complete decommissioning of the Nord Stream pipelines.
Revision of security of supply framework
According to Parliament, the new EU security of supply architecture should reflect such fundamental shifts as increasing cross-sectoral integration of the energy system, the new geopolitical landscape, the profound changes in supply routes, the impact of climate change, as well as changes in the maturity of energy technologies. Members called for prioritising the resilience of energy infrastructure and for the integration of renewable and low-carbon gases, such as biomethane and hydrogen, to be taken into account in the security of supply architecture. They highlighted the need for a unified, resilient and strategically coordinated energy policy.