The European Commission wants to set an EU-wide electrification target by 2040 as part of a new push to cut the bloc’s dependence on imported oil and gas following the current Middle East crisis.
According to a leaked draft of the commission’s Electrification Action Plan, due to be unveiled on 17 July, Brussels will propose a binding electrification target later this year as part of a wider post-2030 energy package.
The target itself has not yet been decided and remains blank in the draft.
“The recent crisis in the Middle East showed for the second time in five years the risks of the EU’s dependency on imported fossil fuels,” the draft says, referring to the additional €50bn the EU spent on fossil-fuel imports during the 111-day crisis.
Instead, Brussels wants to speed up electrification in transport, buildings and industry, describing it as a matter of “sovereignty”, competitiveness and energy security.
