Data | How much of Europe’s gas comes from Russia?

Tougher sanctions against Russian oil and gas have remained a contentious subject for countries in the EU due to the fact that much of the European region depends heavily on Russia for its energy needs and a quick switch to alternate sources would be difficult

On Monday, the European Union (EU) condemned the “atrocities” committed by Russia in many Ukrainian towns. The EU vowed to prepare more sanctions against Russia. However, tougher sanctions against Russian oil and gas have remained a contentious subject for countries in the region. While some countries are for it, others such as Germany, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and Hungary are not convinced. The German Finance Minister, Christian Lindner, has on multiple occasions expressed his country’s inability to stop gas supplies from Russia. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte recently said that he was not in favour of cutting off Russian oil and gas supply. These statements stem from the fact that much of the European region depends heavily on Russia for its energy needs. As energy supply from renewable sources forms a small share in these nations, it is difficult for them to quickly switch to alternate sources

The chart shows the amount of coal, gas, crude oil, and other petroleum oil imported by select EU countries from Russia as a % of a country’s total imports (2016-2020). For instance, Germany imports 34% of its coal and 32% of its crude oil from Russia. The share of imports from Russia crossed the 50% mark across many nations and energy products between 2016 and 2020 

The chart shows the revenue generated from oil and gas as a % of the total revenue of Russia, according to its federal budget. The share of revenue from oil and gas has consistently been above 25%

The chart shows the energy consumption from various sources in select EU nations. Most EU countries largely depend on coal, oil and gas for their energy needs. For instance, 36% of Germany’s energy consumption was from oil, followed by 26.6% from gas and 15.7% from coal

Source: Our World in Data, UNComtrade, minfin.gov

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