MOSCOW, Sept 29 (Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti) -- The European Union has spent an excess of more than €100 billion (US$113.5 billion) on energy since the start of 2026 solely due to price increases, without receiving any additional volumes of oil or gas for that money, EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said on Tuesday, reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti.
"We have now surpassed €100 billion that we've paid extra for our energy this year, without receiving one extra molecule of gas or oil. One hundred billion euros," Jorgensen said ahead of an informal meeting of EU energy ministers in Dublin.
Such additional costs demonstrate the consequences of the European Union's dependence on externally supplied energy resources, he added.
"This, of course, shows us just how bad it is for us to be dependent, just how unsustainable it is for us to depend on energy sources from other places in the world," the European commissioner said.
Rising prices on the global market directly affect European consumers and industry, Jorgensen added.
The European commissioner also said that the EU intends to reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels by developing its own renewable energy and electrification.
-- BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI