Abstract Traditionally fossil fuels have been use as the main resource to obtain energy but its use has several negative impacts, such as global warming and air pollution. Global warming has been mentioned has a key challenge to be addressed due to its expected grave consequences. Air pollution is another important problem and has been responsible for many health problems causing social and economic negative effects. However the use of fossil fuels has another strategic dimension when a sustainability perspective is considered, namely the preservation of natural resources, which is a goal of Circular Economy strategy. In this work fossil fuel energy consumption is analyzed in European countries as well as its relationship with other variables such as energy dependence and share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption. It was possible to conclude that many European countries still depend heavily on fossil fuels.