REPowerEU reduces dependency but contributes little to clean energies

Pdespite the reduction in EU dependence on Russian fossil fuels, there are still challenges.

Based on its assessment, the ECA considers that only three Member States – Hungary, the Netherlands and Portugal – have established clear links to all measures under the REPowerEU chapters of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (MRR) in the PNEC (National Plan for Energy and Climate).

Overall, it refers to the audit, only 35% of the MRR measures in the REPowerEU chapters are referred to in the final versions of the national energy and climate plans.

The REPowerEU plan, the auditors highlight, introduced EU sanctions that led to the ban on imports of fossil fuels from Russia, with the exception of natural gas, and led to a drastic decrease in oil imports and gas imports, albeit to a lesser extent.

However, the ECA points out that important challenges persist, as a quantity of Russian oil has continued to arrive to the EU indirectly through third countries, and some Member States continue to import considerable amounts of natural gas.

The regulation, highlights the audit, “does not include provisions imposing direct sanctions on Member States that do not comply with the ban”.

To this end, the European Court of Auditors proposes that, by launching future EU funding instruments for measures to achieve the energy and climate targets for clean energy production or network reinforcement, the Commission should ensure that the measures include “clear and result-oriented targets explicitly linked to those objectives”.

The measures to be financed should also be “supported by realistic timetables under the financing instrument that allow the implementation of ambitious and complex measures and have sufficient funding for follow-up”.

The Community Executive shall also “define performance indicators explicitly linked to the relevant objectives of the REPowerEU plan that are sufficiently clear and quantifiable”.

Of the EUR 300 billion available for REPowerEU, only 18% of this amount had been made available by April, amounting to EUR 54.3 billion.