The President of the Commission conjures up nothing less than “European solidarity” with regard to a possible failure of Russian gas supplies. According to Von der Leyen, Putin uses energy as a weapon.
According to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the EU must prepare itself in the event of a complete failure of gas supplies from Russia. “We have to prepare for further interruptions in the gas supply from Russia, even for a complete termination,” said the top German politician in the European Parliament on Wednesday. It is clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin is using energy as a weapon. Twelve member states are already directly affected by a partial or complete failure of the gas supply from Russia.
According to von der Leyens, the EU Commission will present a European emergency plan in response to the developments in the middle of this month. “Member States already have national emergency plans. That’s good, but we need European coordination and joint action,” she said. In this way, it must be ensured that in the event of a complete supply disruption from Russia, gas flows that are still available flow to where they are most urgently needed.
“We have to ensure European solidarity. And we have to protect the internal market and the supply chains of the industry, »said von der Leyen. It is important not to forget the bitter lesson that was learned at the beginning of the corona pandemic. Selfishness, protectionism, closed borders and export bans would only have led to disunity and fragmentation.
According to von der Leyens, efforts to find new reliable gas suppliers are progressing. Since March, non-Russian liquefied natural gas exports to Europe have increased by 75 percent compared to 2021. Exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the USA to Europe have almost tripled. At the same time, the average monthly import of Russian pipeline gas fell by 33 percent compared to the previous year. “So we’re making progress,” von der Leyen said.
