Von der Leyen: Need to move away from fossil fuels

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, from the podium of the World Economic Forum in Davos, focused on the urgent need to divest the EU from fossil fuels. She has sharply criticized Russia for using energy and food.

LNG stations

Ms. von der Leyen also referred to Greece, talking about the new LNG terminals.

In particular, she stressed that “the climate crisis can not wait. But now the geopolitical reasons are obvious. We have to move away from fossil fuels.”

“The same goes for diversifying our gas supply, another pillar of REPowerEU. As we speak, Europe is entering into new agreements with reputable suppliers around the world. In March, I agreed with President Biden to significantly increase LNG deliveries from the US to Europe. More LNG and pipeline gas will also come from the Middle East and North Africa. “New LNG terminals in Greece, Cyprus and Poland will be put into operation soon, as well as new interconnections”, added the President of the Commission, underlining at the same time, the importance of hydrogen.

Energy and food tooling

“We are witnessing that Russia is instrumentalizing its energy reserves. And that has a global impact. Unfortunately, we see the same pattern appearing in food security,” she said.

According to Ms. von der Leyen, the grain fields in Ukraine have been burned and “in Russian-occupied Ukraine, the Kremlin’s army is seizing grain stocks and machinery.”

“Today, the Russian artillery is deliberately bombing grain depots all over Ukraine. Russian warships in the Black Sea block Ukrainian ships full of wheat and sunflower seeds. The consequences of these shameful acts are there for all to see. World wheat prices are skyrocketing. “And it is the fragile countries and the vulnerable populations that suffer the most,” she said.

She said Russia was accumulating its own food exports as a form of blackmail, blocking supplies to boost world prices or trading wheat in exchange for political support. This is called the use of hunger and grain to exercise power,” he added.

Cooperation is an antidote

The President of the Commission stressed the need to mobilize greater cooperation and support at European and global level. “Global co-operation is the antidote to Russia’s blackmail,” he said.

Finally, Ms. von der Leyen stated that she is collaborating with the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, to organize an event on food security and solutions in Europe and the region.