This is how Gazprom holds Europe hostage on gas
Gazprom is making Europe pay for the lack of autonomy over energy supplies. The article by Giuseppe Gagliano
Europe's lack of energy autonomy comes at a very high price. And it is a price that Russia intends to make Europe pay, beyond the usual declarations.
THE GAZPROM DECISION
What are we alluding to? The Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom announced on Tuesday 21 September that it does not intend to increase gas exports to Europe despite the latter facing a deep energy crisis due to the increase in the price of natural gas.
In fact, as reported by the Russian news agency Interfax , Gazprom has decided not to provide extra capacity in the pipelines that pass through Ukraine, thus causing a considerable reduction of natural gas to the European Union.
Specifically, the Russian company has given its availability for only one third of the actual transportation capacity of the Yamal pipeline.
THE IMPACT FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION
We must not forget that the European Union exports 40% of its natural gas from Russia. This will not only increase the price of gas in Europe, which has already in fact exceeded the threshold of $ 950 per 1000 m³, but will force the European Union to bend its back in the face of the Russian demand for gas as a instrument of geopolitical pressure. The complaint made by the European Commission that Gazprom manipulates market prices appears to be extremely well founded .
THE GAZPROM PROPOSAL
The solution proposed by the Russian company in the face of these criticisms is a solution that naturally can only benefit Gazprom economically: instead of relying on market prices, the EU should sign long-term contracts with Gazprom.
EUROPE'S STRATEGIC DEPENDENCE
On the other hand, let us not forget that the same absence of strategic autonomy is also discounted by the European Union in relation to the rare earths for which it depends on China and Chile.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/gazprom-europa-gas/ on Wed, 22 Sep 2021 06:40:25 +0000.