The energy available in the European Union comes from energy produced in the EU and from energy imported from third countries. Therefore, in order to get a good overview of the total energy available in the EU, energy production should always be put in context with imports.
In 2020, the EU produced around 42 % of its own energy (up compared with 40 % in 2019) while 58 % (down compared with 60 % in 2019) was imported. This decrease in imports is partly linked to the COVID-19 economic crisis.
Petroleum products have the largest share in the EU energy mix
In 2020, the energy mix in the EU, meaning the range of energy sources available, was mainly made up by five different sources: petroleum products (including crude oil) (35 %), natural gas (24 %), renewable energy (17 %), nuclear energy (13 %) and solid fossil fuels (12 %).
The shares of the different energy sources in the total energy available vary considerably between Member States. Petroleum products (including crude oil) account for a significant share of total energy available in Cyprus (87 %), Malta (86 %) and Luxembourg (60 %), while natural gas accounts for 40 % in Italy and 38 % in the Netherlands. Renewables have the highest share in Sweden (49 %) and Latvia (40 %), while nuclear energy makes up 41 % of energy available in France and 25 % in Sweden and Slovakia respectively. More than half of energy available in Estonia (53 %) and 41 % in Poland comes from solid fossil fuels.