Last year, the EU spent EUR 420 billion on fossil fuel imports, equivalent to approximately EUR 1,000 per citizen.

Error detected

The claimed total of €420 billion is approximately 24.7% higher than the official Eurostat figure of €336.7 billion for energy product imports in 2025.

The claimed per-capita figure of 'almost €1,000' overstates even the speaker's own total (€420 bn ÷ ~449 million = ~€935), and significantly exceeds both the Eurostat-implied ~€750 and the CREA-implied ~€880 per citizen.

Omissions

• The speaker did not cite any source for the €420 billion figure, and no published source from any institution or research organisation supports that exact amount for 2025.
• The Eurostat figure of €336.7 billion covers all 'energy products' (SITC Section 3), which is the standard trade classification for fossil fuels plus electricity — if electricity imports were excluded, the fossil-fuel-only figure could be marginally lower still.
• CREA, a specialised think tank, publishes a higher estimate of €396 billion for fossil fuels specifically; the methodological difference between the Eurostat and CREA figures could not be fully resolved, but neither source reaches €420 billion.
• Even if the CREA figure were correct, the per-capita equivalent would be approximately €880, not 'almost €1,000.' The speaker's own stated total of €420 billion divided by the EU population (~449 million) yields only about €935 per citizen, which also falls short of the claimed ~€1,000.

Sources

• PrimaryEurostatIn 2025, the EU imported €336.7 billion worth of energy products, amounting to 723.3 million tonnes. Compared with 2024, imports decreased both in value (-11.1%) and in volume (-3.4%).
• SecondaryCentre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA)The EU's overall fossil fuel imports in 2025 came to approximately EUR 880 per citizen for a total of EUR 396 bn, versus EUR 330 bn spent on imports of renewable energy equipment, components and related goods.