The EU Commission’s plans would probably save around 45 billion cubic meters of gas.
(Photo: dpa)
Brussels It was a demonstration of Russian power: the initially only speculative news that Russia’s energy company Gazprom intends to continue supplying Europe with gas after all triggered price jumps on the stock exchanges on Tuesday. The Dow Jones index shot up 700 points. Markets in the Kremlin’s grip – that’s exactly the impression Vladimir Putin wants to create.
Putin has no interest in allaying European fears of an emergency winter, that much is clear. Gas deliveries are his most important leverage in the economic war with the EU. Europe remains at the mercy of him and his whims. The Commission therefore presented an emergency plan in Brussels on Wednesday.
In order to be prepared for energy bottlenecks in winter, the EU countries should already significantly reduce gas consumption. The aim is to reduce gas consumption by 15 percent between August and March.
According to the Commission’s calculations, this would save around 45 billion cubic meters of gas and save Europe through the winter. Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said: “The faster we act, the more we save, the safer we are.”
EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton added: Europe must “do everything in its power” to prevent “European consumers from being suddenly cut off from gas” and “being exposed to uncontrolled price increases”.
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Russia follows European preparations
The concrete measures should be decided by the member states themselves. However, if individual countries miss their reduction targets, the Commission, together with the European Council, in which the member states are organized, wants to prescribe savings.
The Commission should be able to declare a Europe-wide emergency and “activate a binding reduction” “to ensure the necessary overall EU reduction for a safer winter for everyone,” according to the authority’s proposal. With this regulation, the EU wants to prevent individual countries from trying to get through the crisis as free riders.
In Russia, the preparations of the Europeans are being closely followed. After a summit with Turkey and Iran in Tehran, Putin confirmed speculation about the resumption of gas supplies.
The Russian President claimed: “Gazprom has fulfilled its obligations, is fulfilling them now and will continue to fulfill them in the future.” However, he immediately qualified his statement again: If Russia does not receive back a turbine repaired in Canada, the daily throughput capacity of the pipeline could fall to 33 million cubic meters at the end of July due to the necessary repair of an “additional unit”.
Read more about the gas crisis:
Despite recent statements by the Kremlin, a complete halt is a “likely scenario,” von der Leyen warned. “Putin is trying to push us ahead of him, but he will fail dramatically.”
Because the EU has learned the lessons of the corona pandemic. Europe knows that it has to stand together. Breton also emphasized: “We have to prepare for a winter without Russian gas.”
Gas embargo would plunge Europe into recession
According to calculations by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a complete Russian gas embargo would plunge Europe into a recession. Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary would be particularly badly affected. Up to 40 percent of the gas consumed in recent years could be missing in these countries.
The prerequisite for the introduction of gas savings targets would be that three states or the EU Commission fear emergency situations due to undersupply.
(Photo: Reuters)
In Germany, economic output threatens to collapse by almost three percent in the worst case, according to the IMF. The worst case would occur if EU countries did not share gas reserves and did not absorb price shocks for consumers.
>> Read here: Putin creates his own world order – and the West looks on helplessly. A comment.
The EU Parliament is therefore supporting the Commission’s plans: “The gas supply, but also production chains are intertwined throughout Europe,” says the green energy expert Jutta Paulus. “The member states must finally take off their national glasses and coordinate emergency plans across the EU.”
The energy ministers of the member states want to discuss the Commission’s proposal at an extraordinary meeting next week.
More: New emergency plan: EU Commission wants to force households to save gas