EU is te afhankelijk van Russisch gas (en)

The European Union is too reliant on gas supplies from Russia, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned.

According to the Financial Times, the IEA said that the EU's energy security is at risk due to a growing dependence on Russian gas supplies piped through politically unstable Ukraine.

"Governments have been too early in thinking there would never be supply issues with natural gas and electricity", said Claude Mandil, director of the IEA.

Russia is the world's largest gas producer. EU countries buy 40 percent of their gas imports from the former Soviet Union, most of which is supplied by Gazprom, says the newspaper.

The IEA's call for diversification follows confirmation this week that Berlin was actively encouraging German energy companies to invest in the Russian oil sector.