EU Eyes Gas Transparency, New Sources to Reduce Imports

The European Union should reduce energy consumption, seek new supply sources and examine ways to increase transparency of the gas market to cut its rising dependence on imports from Russia, an EU report showed.

Increasing domestic energy production and accelerating the integration of the EU energy market are also ways to increase the 28-nation bloc’s energy security, the European Commission said in a communication to EU governments and the European Parliament. EU leaders in March asked the bloc’s regulatory arm to prepare a plan for reducing Europe’s reliance on Russia for energy amid the escalating crisis in Ukraine.