"The EU's overall external dependence on energy has changed little, but where it buys it has changed a lot," she said in Berlin on the occasion of receiving a prize from the German Institute for the World Economy.
Gopinath recalled that after Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, the EU reduced direct imports of Russian gas from 20% of total gas imports in 2020 to about 5% by the first half of 2023. At the same time, the association has significantly increased imports from the United States and Norway.
"We had to pay for this reorganization, although it was clearly required," the expert admitted, TASS quoted her as saying.
Wholesale gas prices in the EU "are now about twice as high" and "significantly higher than in the US," she stressed.
As Russian President Vladimir Putin noted, the cost of energy resources for the West has skyrocketed after the rejection of energy from Russia.
He also called Germany's refusal to supply gas through Nord Stream 2 unwise.