According to data published by Eurostat, the rate of dependence of the European Union on natural gas imports decreased slightly in 2021, to 83 %, from 84 % in 2020, but Romania is the member country with the lowest dependence on natural gas imports – 24 %.
Other countries with a low dependence on natural gas imports are: Denmark with 26 % and the Netherlands with 33 %. On the other hand, the member states most dependent on natural gas imports are: Malta (104 %), Sweden (102 %) and Spain (101 %).
Compared to the 2020 situation, the largest increases in dependence on natural gas imports were recorded in Malta (from 96 to 104 % in 2021), Ireland (from 64 to 71%) and Romania (from 17 to 24 %).
The largest year-on-year decreases were recorded in Latvia (from 121 to 61 % in 2021), Austria (from 73 to 51 %) and Slovakia (from 88 to 69 %).
Regarding other SEE member states, Slovenia is 99 % dependent on gas imports, Bulgaria 96 %, Greece 99 %, Hungary 67 % and Croatia 74 %.
