Two decades of changing dependency on Russian gas in Central and Eastern Europe: strategies versus achievements

Figures & data

Table 1. Definitions of indicators and thresholds for indicator-based assessment.

Indicators	(2 points)	(0 points)	(2 points)	(3 points)
Demand-side indicators
Role of gas in energy (Eurostat 2024b)^a		Under 10%	10–30%	Over 30%
Role of gas in power & heat (Eurostat 2024b)^b		Under 10%	10–40%	Over 40%
Role of gas in industry (Eurostat 2024b)^c		Under 10%	10–25%	Over 25%
Role of gas in buildings (Eurostat 2024b)^d		Under 15%	15–25%	Over 25%
Supply-side indicators
Role of Russian gas in total gas (ACER 2021)^f		Under 25%	25–50%	Over 50%
Production/supply (Eurostat 2024b)^g		Over 50%	15–50%	Under 15%
Pipeline capacity/peak consumption (ENTSOG 2011, 2019, 2024)^h		Over 110%	80–110%	Under 80%
LNG capacity/peak consumption (ENTSOG 2011, 2019, 2024)^i	Landlocked	Over 50%	20–50%	Under 20%
Storage capacity/peak consumption (ENTSOG 2011, 2019, 2024)^j		Over 40%	10–40%	Under 10%

^aTotal natural gas supply/total energy supply. ^bNatural gas consumption in electricity and heat generation/total energy consumption in electricity and heat generation. ^cTotal natural gas demand in industry/total energy demand in industry. ^dTotal natural gas demand in buildings/total energy demand in buildings. Consumption in buildings = final consumption energy use in commercial and public services + final consumption energy use in households. ^eTotal number of household gas consumers/total number of households. ^fThe share of Russian gas was recalculated in each country based on the gas import supply mix of the neighbouring exporting countries. ^gPrimary production of natural gas/total natural gas supply. ^hDaily pipeline capacity/daily peak gas demand. For 2004, January 2011 data were used. ⁱLNG daily send out capacity/daily peak gas demand. For 2004, January 2011 data were used. ^jDaily withdrawal capacity/daily peak gas demand. For 2004, January 2011 data were used.

Figure 1. Different risk zones in the assessment of composite indicators.

Figure 2. Illustration of gas dependency with composite indicators for new (left) and old (right) member states for 2004.

Country codes: New member states: BG – Bulgaria, CZ – Czechia, EE – Estonia, HR – Croatia, HU – Hungary, LT – Lithuania, LV – Latvia, PL – Poland, RO – Romania, SK – Slovakia, and SI – Slovenia. Old member states: AT – Austria, BE – Belgium, DE – Germany, DK – Denmark, ES – Spain, FI – Finland, FR – France, GR – Greece, IE – Ireland, IT – Italy, LU – Luxembourg, NL – Netherlands, PT – Portugal, SE – Sweden, and UK – United Kingdom.

Figure 3. Illustration of changing Russian gas dependency in new member states from 2004 to 2019 and 2022, based on the composite indicators.

For the country codes, see Figure S1.

Figure 4. Illustration of changing Russian gas dependency in old member states from 2004 to 2019 and 2022, based on the composite indicators.

For the country codes, see Figure S1.

Figure 5. Illustration of changing Russian gas dependency in the EU member states with composite dependency indicator pathways from 2004 to 2019 and 2022, alongside targets set in energy strategies of the new member states, country by country.

For the country codes, see Figure S1.

Table 2. Categorisation of data in energy strategies of new member states.

Selection of energy strategies is based on the date of adoption closest to the 2004 Eastern enlargement.

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