EU gas demand climbs and service‑sector energy use expands in 2024‑2025

In 2025 the European Union’s internal demand for natural gas rose 2.5% year‑on‑year, driven by notable gains in Croatia (11.3%), Portugal (11.2%) and Slovenia (10.3%). Consumption fell in Finland, Sweden and Estonia. Romania remained the bloc’s largest gas producer but saw output dip 0.8%, while the Netherlands and Germany also reported declines. The EU still relies heavily on imports, with 89% of its gas supplied from outside the bloc via pipelines from Norway, Algeria, Russia, the United Kingdom, Azerbaijan and Libya. All Russian gas imports are slated to be banned by the end of 2027, though Hungary and Slovakia have received temporary exemptions.

Eurostat data show that final energy consumption in the EU services sector increased 1.7% in 2024 to 4,971 petajoules, marking a 25% rise since 1990. Electricity accounted for 52% of this use, followed by natural gas at 25.4% and renewables at 8.7%. Services now represent 13.5% of the EU’s total final energy consumption, behind transport, households and industry. Within services, wholesale and retail trade were the biggest users, with health‑care, social support and hospitality each contributing roughly 10% of sectoral demand.