Faced with the disruption of gas imports from Russia, the EU is coming to a dead end in its search for alternative energy sources. Agreed natural gas imports from the US are bound to prove uneconomical, while the Arab states have indicated that they will be able to export gas to the EU only after five years. In any case, the EU will find itself facing an unprecedented energy crisis, with gas imported from the US or Arab states costing many times more than gas from Russian pipelines.
In view of this, and in order to ensure that the EU does not once again find itself at the mercy of events beyond its control:
1. Can the Commission say why it does not set up a hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation fund in a bid to ensure, at least in part, future energy self-sufficiency from underground deposits in the Member States?
2. Does it intend to create a new energy poverty recovery fund, along the lines of the Recovery and Resilience Fund set up in response to the pandemic?
