Energy resources in the European Union
The European Union consumes more energy than it produces fossil fuels and generates from renewable sources. The difference is covered by the EU with fuels purchased from external suppliers, mainly from the Middle East and Russia. The dependence of Europe on the imports of fuel keeps increasing systematically. In 1995, 42% of fuels were imported. Currently, the European Union imports as much as half of consumed fuels and spends on these imports 240 billion euros per year*. It is expected that by 2030, this share will rise to about 70%, which is going to increase the scale of expenditures correspondingly. The energetic dependency on the imports is a political problem for the EU and has a negative impact on its energetic safety.
It the current level of energy efficiency was maintained – i.e. no any savings program were implemented – in 2030, as much as 70% of energy and fuels would have to be imported from outside of the European Union.
()* Sources:
www.elektroenergetyka.pl,
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu
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