The man with the plan to end Europe’s Russian gas addiction

Good morning. News to start: Brussels plans to make it easier for UK professionals to work in the EU, a key British post-Brexit request, in a proposal seen by the Financial Times. 

Today, our energy correspondent profiles Dan Jørgensen, the Danish commissioner whose plan to end EU imports of Russian energy will be released this afternoon. And parliament’s top border control lawmaker tells Laura what’s still hindering the EU’s new border system.

Join Chris Giles and Monetary Policy Radar colleagues tomorrow for a Q&A on how central banks should navigate the new world order.

Phasing out

Dan Jørgensen, the EU’s energy commissioner, admits that working out how the EU will wean itself off Russian fossil fuels “is by far the most important and difficult thing I’ve been involved with”.

Its success or failure will probably define his tenure, writes Alice Hancock.

Context: The European Commission will today present a plan setting out how the bloc will rid itself of its remaining imports of Russian fossil fuels by 2027. The document marks the beginning of the end of the EU’s dependence on Russian energy, which previously accounted for two-fifths of the bloc’s gas imports and around a third of its oil.

It’s proven a tricky political balancing act for Jørgensen, who has had to account for the varying interests of different member states, but also US preferences, as American gas is expected to help replace the Russian fuel.

Jørgensen is not new to tough negotiations. He has repeatedly led discussions on contentious climate issues decided at the UN COP climate conference. As Denmark’s climate and energy minister, he was among those sat around the EU negotiating table during the 2022 gas price crisis.

But this plan, he told the FT, goes beyond even those “days and nights . . . making emergency plans for what to do if [Vladimir] Putin closed off the gas”.

“We moved from being afraid that [Putin] would stop the gas to working on stopping it ourselves. And to some extent, you can say that we’ve been extremely successful,” Jørgensen said. “I don’t honestly think there . . . are many parts of the world where countries would be able to fundamentally shift from one supplier as much as we have [and] as fast as we have.”

“It’s the first time that the EU takes a step that is this significant towards another country,” he added.

Despite countries hassling Jørgensen to present the plan from “day one on this job”, it was nonetheless delayed from its original March publication date owing to the complexity of the options the commission is presenting.

Jørgensen said it was “a very complicated matter” but that Brussels had found “new solutions that will make it possible for us to finally say that this will now happen”.

Many EU officials now see turning off Russian gas — and turning up US LNG imports — as a win-win situation that could also avoid a trade war with Washington.

Jørgensen said he had spoken to his US counterparts to let them know the plan was coming but, because of the market implications, specific details of the plan have been “kept very tight”.

Chart du jour: Frenemy

China is on a charm offensive with Europe and other global powers, to push back against US influence and shore up its export markets.

Phasing in

Germany, France and the Netherlands must remove the last hurdles for the EU’s new electronic border to come into force this autumn, the lawmaker leading European parliament negotiations on the issue tells Laura Dubois.

Context: The so-called Entry/Exit System has been bogged down for eight years amid technical delays and security concerns. The system will record personal details of all foreign travellers entering or exiting the bloc.

“The only thing that is standing in the way of getting ahead with this legislation is the readiness of France, Germany and the Netherlands,” Assita Kanko of the hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists told the FT.

The three countries had raised concerns about the central system, prompting the European Commission to propose a phased rollout to ensure a smooth transition.

Kanko said that “any risk of a total failure of the system has been removed”.

Both the council of EU member states and the European parliament have approved the gradual phase-in, meaning that negotiations between parliamentarians and the council can now start. Kanko said that a first round of talks had been scheduled for Friday.

If the institutions agree — and all countries declare they are ready — the system can be phased in from late October or early November over six months, Kanko said.

A spokesperson for Germany’s interior ministry said it “will adopt the declaration of operational readiness within the required timeframe to avoid further delays”.

The responsible Dutch and French ministries did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but officials have signalled they would stick to the planned timetable.

What to watch today

1. Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Council president António Costa address the European parliament in Strasbourg.

2. Friedrich Merz to be elected German chancellor

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