Joint Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe Committee

European Energy Security Post-Russia

562 Dirksen
Tue, 07 Jun 2022 18:30:00 GMT

The United States and European allies have largely cut Russia out of the global economy following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, given European reliance on Russian natural gas and oil, sweeping energy sanctions have lagged. The European Union spends nearly a billion euros a day on Russian energy, and several EU Member States are struggling to wean themselves off Russian resources in order to implement a full embargo.

This hearing will examine plans to create a Europe that is wholly free from Russian oil and gas. Witnesses will discuss the importance of a robust energy embargo to starving the Russian war machine; options to ensure that Ukraine’s energy needs are met; alternative sources of energy for Europe; and the perspective of Germany, which plays an outsize role as the most powerful economy in Europe and a primary consumer of Russian natural resources.

Witnesses:
  • Yuriy Vitrenko, CEO, Naftogaz Ukraine
  • Constanze Stelzenmüller, Senior Fellow Brookings Institution
  • Benjamin Schmitt, Research Associate, Harvard University, Senior Fellow, Democratic Resilience Program, Center for European Policy Analysis