European reactions to impending gas restrictions in comparison

[suchona.kani.z]

In previous blog posts we already reported on the German government’s reactions to the dependence on Russian gas:



Currently, we see a seemingly unified European response to Russia, with various sanctions and a European plan to reduce gas demand - as almost half of the member states are already affected by a reduction in supplies. The EU has rules to prevent and respond to gas supply disruptions, according to which member states must have plans to deal with supply disruptions at three crisis levels: early warning, alarm and emergency. But what is the situation in selected countries concerned? How are individual EU countries reacting politically? We provide an overview.

The impact of a disruption in Russian gas supplies is particularly acute in Germany, as the country gets about 39 percent of its natural gas from Russia. If Russian gas flows through Nord Stream 1 had stopped bulgaria consumer email list after the maintenance break, the economic cost of the disruption could have reached 193 billion euros in the second half of 2022. Following the recent Nord Stream 1 throttling, Germany passed an emergency law in parliament to reactivate some coal-fired power plants to support electricity generation, as well as measures to encourage the expansion of renewable energy and increase LNG imports from countries such as Argentina. This is intended to help Germany wean itself off Russian gas and secure energy supplies before winter by generating some of its electricity with coal instead of gas. Relying on nuclear energy is no longer an option, as the last three nuclear power plants are scheduled to shut down this year.

How are the other EU countries currently reacting?
Italy was the second largest European consumer of Russian gas after Germany, with a share of around 45 percent (2019). Italy, which is seeking new suppliers and is relying on coal and renewable energy, says it could be independent of Russian gas by 2024. The Italian government has repeatedly said it wants to end its dependence on Russia for gas supplies following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is looking for new sources, for example, it recently reached an agreement to increase gas supplies from Algeria, and has reported plans to burn more coal to offset reduced gas supplies and also promote renewable energy generation. The country could be independent of Russian gas by the end of 2024.