The European Court of Auditors (ECA) has warned that the EU’s REPowerEU plan is failing to deliver the scale of investment and infrastructure development needed to reduce dependence on Russian energy.
In a report published today, the auditors found that EU member states have committed only €54.3 billion of the roughly €300 billion in additional investment that the European Commission estimated would be required by 2030 to meet the plan’s objectives.
REPowerEU was launched in May 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Its objectives include diversifying energy supplies, reducing fossil-fuel consumption, expanding renewable generation and strengthening electricity interconnections between member states.
The ECA said the plan has had limited influence on national energy policies. Most national energy and climate plans contain few specific measures or targets linked to REPowerEU, while the governance arrangements provide limited mechanisms for coordinating implementation and tracking results.
The auditors also found that the plan has made little contribution to increasing renewable generation capacity. Measures included in member states’ Recovery and Resilience Facility plans are expected to deliver only a small amount of additional renewable capacity compared with the 103 GW objective identified under REPowerEU.
Progress on cross-border electricity infrastructure has been similarly limited. The ECA identified only three REPowerEU measures relating to interconnectivity across two member states, with one subsequently abandoned.
Russian energy imports have fallen substantially since the plan was introduced, particularly oil imports. However, the ECA cautioned that sanctions are not the only factor behind the decline. Lower energy consumption, high prices and relatively mild winters have also reduced demand, making it difficult to isolate REPowerEU’s direct impact.
The auditors said REPowerEU has nevertheless helped accelerate some individual projects but has not generated the broader transformation originally envisaged.
ECA member Mihails Kozlovs called for coordinated efforts to strengthen implementation, arguing that renewed geopolitical pressures reinforce the need to diversify energy supplies and avoid dependence on individual suppliers.
The report concludes that without a significant increase in implementation, REPowerEU is unlikely to achieve its stated objectives by 2030.
