Total energy consumption in the EU in the 1990-2015 period was reduced by 2.5%, to 1 626 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe), according to Eurostat.
The consumption level dropped by 11.6% compared to its peak of almost 1 840 million tonnes of oil equivalent in 2006.
Accounting for nearly three-quarters of EU consumption of energy in 2015, fossil fuels continued to represent by far the main source of energy, although their weight has constantly decreased over the past decades, from 83% in 1990 to 73% in 2015, says Eurostat.
However, over this period, EU dependency on imports of fossil fuels has increased, with 73% imported in 2015 compared with just over half (53%) in 1990. In other words, while in 1990 one tonne of fossil fuels was imported for each tonne produced in the EU, by 2015 three tonnes were imported for each tonne produced.
Germany continued to be the EU's biggest energy consumer in 2015, with 314 Mtoe, a 19% share of the total energy consumed by the EU28.
Germany is followed by France, with 253 Mtoe or 16%, Great Britain, with 191 Mtoe or 12%, and Italy, with 156 Mtoe or 10%.
Compared to 1990, the largest drop in energy consumption in 2015 was recorded in the three Baltic states - Lithuania (-57%), Latvia (-45%) and Estonia (-37%).
In Croatia, energy consumption in that period dropped by close to 12%, to 8.5 Mtoe in 2015.
The highest increases in energy consumption were recorded in Cyprus (+41%), Ireland (+38%), and Spain and Austria (+35% and +33%).
In every EU member state, the share of fossil fuels in energy consumption decreased over the 1990-2015 period, most notably in Denmark (from 91% in 1990 to 69% in 2015), Latvia (from 83% to 61%) and Romania (from 96% to 74%).
In Croatia, the share of fossil fuels in energy consumption dropped from 81% in 1990 to 70% in 2015, shows the Eurostat report.
However, a large majority of member states remain highly reliant on fossil fuels for their energy consumption.
In 2015, fossil fuels made up less than half of the energy consumption in only three member states: Sweden (30%), Finland (46%) and France (49%).
Most of the EU member states saw their dependency on fossil fuel imports increase between 1990 and 2015.
This was notably the case for the United Kingdom (from a dependency rate of 2% in 1990 to 43% in 2015). In Poland, for example, the dependency rate grew from 1% in 1990 to 32% in 2015.
In Croatia, the rate of dependency on fossil fuel imports grew to 64% in 2015 from 42% in 1990, shows the Eurostat report.
The least dependent on fossil fuel imports in 2015 were Denmark, with a dependency rate of only 4%, and Estonia, with a 17% rate.