One year ago today the European Council formally adopted the Repower EU communication, the preliminary version of which had been presented by the Commission on the previous 8 March, just two weeks after Russia began its barbaric invasion of Ukraine and unleashed a cruel and a bloody war that is still going on. In those days, along with other adversities caused by Putin, Europe peered into the abyss of energy shortages, and became aware in the most dramatic way of one of the strategic vulnerabilities that endanger our common project of peace and prosperity.

The response, articulated around Repower EU, was of unprecedented speed, effectiveness and unity of action. Europe responded to Putin’s blackmail by assuming the challenge of diversifying energy supply sources, reducing consumption through savings and efficiency actions, reinforcing the gas and electricity infrastructure system in the European territory and accelerating decarbonization by adopting more ambitious for the deployment of renewable electricity and gases, especially green hydrogen.

One year later, the balance is clearly positive. The EU has reduced Russian gas consumption to a tiny fraction of what it represented in 2021, has got through the winter of 2022-2023 without any serious supply problems (although not without paying a significant bill, in terms of energy prices and inflation). ) and has accelerated the filling of underground storage to a level (62% today) that provides great confidence for the next winter season. In addition, transcendental commitments have been launched to accelerate decarbonisation, without losing sight of competitiveness, such as the Net Zero Industry Act or the European Hydrogen Bank.

Without a doubt, the next Spanish presidency of the European Union will be key to consolidating these advances and giving decisive impetus to legislative initiatives, such as the decarbonised gas and hydrogen package and the RED III directive. All this, within the framework of the priority that the Government of Spain attributes to the Open Strategic Autonomy initiative, in tune with the striking poster that the Commission has distributed throughout European cities, with the motto: “Peace, freedom and energy independence ”.

In this year of great energy challenges, I believe that it is legitimate to be proud of the role that Spain has played by placing, through the More Energy Security Plan, its robust gas infrastructure at the service of the security of supply of other European countries.

Gas exports from our country to other EU destinations have broken, and continue to break, record after record, without failing to guarantee 100% supply in Spain.

One year after the approval of Repower EU, and bearing in mind that there is still much work to be done, Europe certainly deserves to be recognized for its success, in the most difficult circumstances imaginable. Let’s not let our guard down: support for Ukraine, security of supply and Europe’s energy transition continue to require our full commitment, but in this year of Repower EU, Europe has lived up to it, with Spain and its energy players and managers of infrastructures contributing with all available means.

This is great news for all Europeans.