Gazprom announces a further reduction in gas deliveries to Europe
Moscow invokes maintenance operations on a turbine of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.
AP - Michael Probst
Text by: RFI Follow
4 mins
The Russian gas giant Gazprom announced on Monday that it would reduce from Wednesday to 33 million cubic meters its daily deliveries to Europe, via the Nord Stream gas pipeline.
Moscow invokes maintenance operations on a turbine.
For Germany, very dependent on Russian gas, this is a pretext and a political decision.
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After the episode of the gas turbine being repaired in Canada, here is that of the maintenance operation on another turbine of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.
Every week now, Gazprom invokes a technical problem to explain the drop in its gas deliveries.
From Wednesday,
they will increase to 33 million cubic meters per
day, or 20% of the capacity of the gas pipeline linking Russia to Western Europe.
The pretext invoked made Berlin jump, ultra dependent on Russian energy, which denounces a political decision.
Westerners accuse Moscow of using the energy weapon in retaliation for sanctions adopted after the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
For the Italian analyst, Simone Tagliapietra, Russia seeks above all to make gas prices jump on the world market to reinforce the inflation which is currently destabilizing Europe.
This Monday evening, shortly after Gazprom's announcement, the price of gas rose by 10%.
“
Russia's strategy is to drag down the European economy under the price of energy which drives up inflation.
And she would like in the medium term that this blow against the European economy pushes Europe to backtrack on the sanctions, to soften them in order to be able to breathe.
This is the Kremlin's strategy.
It is an economic war.
And it is to this economic war that Europe must respond by being united
, ”explains the analyst at the microphone of RFI.
EU seeks to reduce dependence on Russian gas
This new Russian-European weapon pass will undoubtedly be at the center of the discussions in Brussels where the European ministers in charge of energy are meeting this Wednesday.
More than ever, the European Commission wants to anticipate the clean cut of the Russian gas tap.
And for this, it asks the States to do everything possible to reduce their consumption by 15% compared to the average of the last five years.
► To read also: Why Germany's dependence on Russian gas bothers its allies
Portugal and Spain want to show solidarity with their neighbours, but find it unfair to limit their consumption, being little exposed to Russian gas.
France is against a uniform objective that would ignore the specificities of each.
Paris says it prefers coordinated action that does not handicap its German neighbor and economic partner, for example, who is very dependent on Russian gas.
On the side of the French Minister for Energy Transition, it is emphasized that reducing its gas consumption to help its neighbors would only make sense if it were possible to export it.
But infrastructure is limited.
In the event of a serious risk of shortage, the Commission wants to make the 15% reduction binding.
Paris pleads for this alert mechanism to remain subject to the agreement of the States at the risk of encroaching on the principle of subsidiarity, which gives the competence to the States to choose their energy policy.
Either way, this further reduction in the supply of Russian gas to Europe will soon have a significant impact.
“
Germany will now have to reduce its gas consumption
significantly because if it does not reduce its consumption, it will not be able to secure its supplies for the winter,
details Simone Tagliapietra.
It is very likely that for the winter Russia will stop all gas exports to Europe.
Russia has no interest in cutting off all the gas today because it is waiting for the best moment to do so, a moment when, it hopes, Europe will be even more tested by the crisis, by the inflation
”.
Zelensky calls on Europe to "
fight back
"
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Europe on Monday evening to "
respond
" to the "
gas war
" waged by Russia by strengthening European sanctions against Moscow.
“
Today we heard new gas threats to Europe.
Despite the turbine concession for Nord Stream, Russia is not going to resume gas supply to European countries, as it is contractually obliged
to,” Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily video message.
“
That's why you have to fight back.
Don't think about how to bring back a turbine, but strengthen the sanctions
,” he added.
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