It is obvious to all that EU nations should stop buying fossils fuels from Russia after its brutal and criminal invasion of Ukraine.
The European Commission’s Frans Timmermans said this week: ”On top of Covid, on top of the climate and biodiversity crisis, we now have to deal with aggression, thuggery and straight-up barbarism inflicted on a peaceful and democratic European nation.”
The commission has proposed a “RePowerEU strategy“, which would set aside an additional €210bn worth of investment between now and 2027, but much more is needed to push investments forward.
The EU spends around €12 billion on Russian energy each month. That money is directly spent by Putin for his war on Ukraine, on his militia that violently controls his population and on his luxurious lifestyle. The EU has spent more than €1billion on aid to Ukraine, and the member states are investing increasing amounts billions of Euros for defending our borders.
Faster investments will bring huge rewards to Europe and the rest of the world when Russia is threatening world peace with our funding!
It makes sense to invest in new energy investments to replace fossil fuels from Russia as soon as possible and that is best handled by a central authority that can act quickly for the following reasons:
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- We must stop financing Russia’s wars and despots as soon as possible.
- The faster the war stops the less destruction of Ukraine’s infrastructure.
- The faster we act, the faster energy costs will decline.
- We are facing a climate and biodiversity crisis – this needs to be kept as a high priority even now!
By acting now we save money and lives!
The best solution would be the issuance of Euro Bonds by the EU who would then provide the financing of new power infrastructure across Europe by national governments and large energy and transmission companies. Coordination is needed as much as fast action to avoid inefficient investments and unnecessary duplication.
