The European Commission is calling on European countries to reduce gas consumption to leave Russia without a tool for blackmail.
The European Commission has prepared an emergency plan because of Russia’s threat to cut off gas supplies to Europe. Among other things, he suggests that by March next year, EU member states should reduce their gas consumption by 15 percent. The President of the European Commission, followed by the European Commissioners for Climate, Energy and Industry, called for unity. But not all EU countries agree.
In the meantime, Russia has resumed gas supplies through Nord Stream, despite the lack of a Siemens turbine, which was the Kremlin’s initial motivation to stop pumping gas, prompting the EU to quickly divest itself of Russian gas . The turbine arrived in Germany from Canada to avoid sanctions at the request of the German government, but was stopped halfway. The media wrote that it was Moscow’s fault. Correspondent.net telling the details.
Nord Stream began operating even without a turbine from Canada
The Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream, after ten days of scheduled repair, its start has been called a gas war with the European Union, which expects a complete stoppage of supplies due to Ukraine’s support for the war with Russian Federation, resumed supplies on the morning of July 21, although not at full capacity.
Gas deliveries have returned to pre-closure levels – 40 percent of peak volumes. It is possible that pumping will be reduced further: Russian leader Vladimir Putin has publicly questioned the quality of the Nord Stream turbine repair in Canada.
The German Federal Network Agency called the gas situation in the country after the restart of Nord Stream tense, but stable. Right now, everything indicates that Europe is ready for the next warming season.
Underground gas storage facilities in the EU are being filled exactly according to the schedule introduced by the European Commission – now they are 65 percent full on average, and they can be filled even before the heating season.
However, the Kremlin said it was impossible to increase the volume of deliveries to previous levels due to technological problems. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that any gas-related difficulties stem from restrictions introduced by the EU itself.
“These restrictions do not allow the repair of equipment, including turbines that operate in compression stations. And they lead to the fact that some units do not currently receive the necessary service. Like for Gazprom, it is ready to fully fulfill their obligations,” he said.
This month, Moscow began blackmailing Europe over a Siemens gas turbine being repaired in Canada but could not return to Russia because of sanctions imposed on Russia over its war with Ukraine.
Brussels admitted that Russia was engaged in gas blackmail, but urged Canada to break sanctions and return the turbine. He has arrived in Germany, but, according to Reuters, citing two intelligent interlocutors, he is stuck in the middle, because Moscow has not yet given formal permission for his return transportation.
According to one of them, the turbine for the Portovaya compressor station was sent by the logistics company Challenge Group to Cologne on 17 July. According to agency sources, it is not yet clear when the turbine will be returned to Gazprom – it may take from several days to several weeks.
According to Reuters, Moscow also did not provide documents on exactly where and where customs indicated the turbine should be taken. The Siemens concern said that they wanted to deliver it to the operation site as soon as possible, but they could not fully control this process.
The German Ministry of Economy called the situation around the turbine no more than an excuse for Gazprom to cut gas supplies and announced its intention to remove Russia’s concern for such an excuse. According to German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habek, “one sometimes gets the impression that Russia does not want to return” the turbine.
EU emergency plan for gas
Against this background – the risk of a complete cessation of supplies from the Russian Federation – the European Commission called on European countries to reduce gas consumption.
“All EU member states must store gas, pump it into storage and share it,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Brussels on Wednesday, presenting an EU emergency plan designed to help combat the Kremlin’s gas blackmail.
Difficult times have come, but the European Union can cope if all 27 member states act with united forces, the EU leader emphasized. “Putin wants to put pressure on us this winter, but he will fail if we stick together and work together,” assured Ursula von der Leyen.
If Russia suddenly stopped exporting gas to Europe, then the difference between supply and demand during an average winter temperature would be at least 30 billion cubic meters, the European Commission calculated.
In this regard, based on the rarely used Article 122 of the EU Treaty, the EC invited Member States to act urgently “in the spirit of solidarity”, which includes:
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reduction of industrial and household gas consumption from August 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023 by 15 percent of the level of consumption in 2019. This also applies to countries that do not buy Russian gas – the Netherlands, Portugal and the countries Baltic
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fill gas storage facilities up to 80 percent. Today the occupancy rate is 65 percent on average.
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use other energy sources, including coal and oil
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joint voluntary purchase of gas by EU countries to reduce gas prices on international markets
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obligation to supply gas to each other in case of shortage. This is already provided for by the existing SOS (Security Of Supply) regulation, which encourages EU members to voluntarily enter into bilateral agreements among themselves. But not very popular yet.
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find alternative gas suppliers in the USA, Canada, Qatar, Algeria, Azerbaijan and other countries
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accelerated transition to renewable energy sources
In winter, gas consumption in the EU in recent years was about 1.8 billion cubic meters per day, that is, a reduction in demand of 15 percent would theoretically save about 270 million cubic meters per day.
In fact, this level of savings is intended to prepare the EU for the cessation of Russian gas supplies not only through Nord Stream, but also through other routes – through Ukraine (now the deliveries are at the level of 42 million cubic meters) and with Turkish Stream (47 million cubic meters).
But in Europe again the problem of unity
States that are less dependent on Russian gas should unite, because if the industry of Germany or Italy stops, the economy of the entire EU will suffer greatly, said EU Commissioner for Climate Protection Frans Timmermans .
EU energy ministers will vote on the European Commission’s emergency plan is scheduled for July 26. However, some countries have already expressed their dissatisfaction with Brussels’ initiative.
“This cannot be applied to Portugal. Portugal opposes the commission’s proposal because it does not take into account the differences between countries,” said Secretary of State for Environment and Energy João Galamba, calling the plan “not supported.”
He emphasized that reducing the use of gas could eliminate electricity in Portugal.
Teresa Ribera, Minister of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge of Spain, made a similar statement.
On July 22, the Italian authorities also announced that they do not intend to reduce gas consumption, as proposed by the European Commission. “A cut of 15 percent will force a number of economic sectors to make excessive and unmotivated sacrifices,” the Italian government said.
At the same time, the Italian authorities emphasized that they remain in solidarity with the EU, therefore, they signed agreements to replace Russian gas.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.