How much threat potential does Putin have when it comes to gas?

Dusseldorf For months, the dependence on Russian natural gas has caused deep concern for politicians from Berlin to Brussels. Now the danger seems averted – at least for now. Because in the meantime Europe could do without Russian gas. This is shown by current calculations by the Brussels think tank Bruegel. Thanks to milder temperatures and a foreseeable end to the heating season, Putin has lost one of his biggest threats, at least in the short term.

The remaining gas reserves in Europe should be sufficient to cover the demand for the rest of the heating season, even in the event of unfavorable weather developments and a failure of all Russian supplies from the end of this month. “Thanks to the milder weather and strong imports of liquefied natural gas, the storage facilities are now sufficiently full to survive this heating period without Russian imports,” explains Georg Zachmann from Bruegel. However, gas from better supplied countries would have to be passed on to those with a more critical supply.