EU disputes Russia’s energy sales figure, puts imports at €197 billion

The European Commission said the EU imported Russian energy worth €197 billion between March 2022 and July 2026, challenging a US$320.7 billion estimate presented by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. A Commission spokesperson based the EU figure on COMEXT, the trade database managed by Eurostat.

Novak put Russian energy supplies to EU countries at US$320.7 billion from 2022 onwards. He did not identify which commodities were counted, how the supplies were valued or the precise reporting period. He also said Europe received deliveries worth US$21.3 billion during the first nine months of 2026.

The Commission defended its REPowerEU strategy, saying spending on Russian fossil fuels would have reached €475 billion without it — €278 billion more. The programme was developed after Russia invaded Ukraine to diversify supplies, cut consumption and accelerate the shift to alternative energy sources.

Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said the EU’s dependence on Russia had fallen to 12 per cent, compared with 42–45 per cent in 2022. A Commission spokesperson also said Russia accounted for only 6 per cent of the bloc’s fossil fuel spending by 2023.

Some Russian energy imports remain permitted under exemptions, including those for landlocked Hungary and Slovakia and holders of long-term contracts. Under REPowerEU, the Commission plans to end imports of Russian gas and LNG completely by 1 January 2027.