Project, process, network; ongoing

EUSDR Priority Area(s): PA 2 Sustainable Energy

The Russian gas import in many EUSDR countries lays well above 60%, which makes this part of Europe even more exposed than the EU average. The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis raise the security of supply concerns as never before. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to assess how to reduce gas import dependence in the Danube Region, how to diversify the energy supply of the Region’s countries, accelerate the use of untapped renewable and other alternative energy sources.

Objectives: Europe’s sustainable energy policy has been dramatically impacted by Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine and its consequences on the European energy systems. Rapid responses were formulated (e.g. REPowerEU), which aimed to reduce the EU’s gas imports from Russia by nearly two-thirds by the end of 2022 and to make Europe independent from all Russian fossil fuels well before 2030. These documents mark out the main areas of intervention to pave the way for an accelerated clean energy transition and enhanced market resilience, nevertheless, details need to be elaborated. European countries have great differences in their energy systems, national resources, infrastructures, economic development, etc. that determine their responses to these new challenges. This is even more relevant for the Danube Region, where regional disparities are huge and vulnerable consumers need to be protected in numerous provinces against volatile energy prices.

Different activities (studies, workshops, an online gas-market tool) within this Danube Strategy Flagship aim to provide a comprehensive assessment of the gas markets of the EUSDR countries, focussing on their vulnerability related to Russian gas import dependency.

Need and (expected) impact: The ongoing war of aggression on Ukraine has serious impacts on the security of energy supply, especially on those countries (most of the EUSDR countries belong to this category) that heavily depend on Russian gas imports. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to deliver different scenarios, on how these countries can diversify and secure their energy supplies. The outcomes will highlight future potential pathways for reducing the Danube Region’s dependence on Russian gas import while still adhering to the European Green Deal. The results will also include proposed short-, mid- and long-term actions on how to diversify the energy supply of the Region’s countries, and accelerate the use of the untapped renewable and other alternative energy sources. Furthermore, the results will provide insights into the policy, regulatory, economic and implementation aspects of the green energy transition to stop the EU’s, and especially the central and east European regions’ reliance on fossil gas import from Russia and propose concrete steps with modelled cost estimates and present showcases of decarbonised and efficient heating alternatives.

Macro-regional dimension: All EUSDR countries are cooperating and the expected impacts are relevant to all cooperating countries.

Stakeholders involved: Policy makers, regulators, industry representatives, system operators at EU, national and regional levels, as well as the wider public, as vulnerable consumers are the suffering targets of this geopolitical crisis.

Budget and Funding: Est. EUR 10 000/year (source: DRP – PAC – PA 2, PA2 Energy project)

Contact: Ms Annamária Nádor, Priority Area Coordinator, PA 2, Mining and Geological Survey of Hungary,