"Much of our discussion, this time, focused on energy security. The European Union depends more and more on gas from external suppliers," European Council President Donald Tusk said at a press conference.
He noted that most bilateral contracts with EU's dominant supplier, Russia, were concluded on a long-term basis, sometimes more than 20 years.
"That can be unhealthy both for our security and for our market," Tusk said.
According to the European Commission, the EU imported 53 percent of its energy at a cost of around 400 billion euros (US$424 billion) in 2014, which makes it the largest energy importer in the world. Six member states depended on a single external supplier for their entire gas imports and, therefore, remain "too vulnerable" to supply shocks.
By Ruchi Singh
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
