The RepowerEU plan presented by the European Commission in response to the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the energy market and Europe’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels. The plan aims to reduce Europe’s dependency on Russian gas and oil, as well as tackle the climate crisis, by promoting energy savings, diversification of energy supplies, and the acceleration of renewable energy use in homes, industry, and power generation.
The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) is at the center of the RepowerEU Plan, supporting the financing and planning of cross-border and national infrastructure, as well as energy projects and reforms. The initiative also includes an increase in the binding Energy Efficiency Target to 13% under the European Green Deal’s “Fit for 55” package of legislation, short-term behavioral changes to cut gas and oil demand by 5%, and the use of fiscal measures to encourage energy savings.
The plan also includes the creation of an EU Energy Platform to enable common purchases of gas, LNG, and hydrogen, as well as the development of a “joint purchasing mechanism” to negotiate and contract gas purchases on behalf of participating member states. In addition, the RepowerEU initiative includes the adoption of an EU External Energy Strategy to facilitate energy diversification and partnerships with suppliers, as well as the development of a Strategic Energy Technology Plan to accelerate the deployment of low-carbon technologies.
The RepowerEU plan aims to strengthen economic growth, security, and climate action for Europe and its partners through the green transformation of the energy system. By acting as a Union, Europe can phase out its dependency on Russian fossil fuels faster, responding to the ambition of 85% of Europeans to reduce dependency as soon as possible in support of Ukraine.
