The European Union is ready to completely abandon Russian gas against the backdrop of Russia's war against Ukraine. Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy, made such a statement.
Points of attention
- The demand for Russian gas in the EU is decreasing, while imports from Norway and the USA are increasing.
- Ukraine plans to end the contract for the transit of Russian gas and is looking for alternative sources of supply.
- Energy prices remain stable and below the peak levels of the 2022 energy crisis.
Russia will lose another market for the sale of "blue fuel"
The politician drew attention to the fact that the share of Russian gas in EU imports decreased from 45% in 2021 to 18% by June 2024.
In addition, it is emphasized that imports from such reliable allies as Norway and the United States continue to grow.
We are no longer under the rule of Putin's pipelines, and we continue to support our Ukrainian partners as winter approaches, Kadri Simson emphasized.
Despite this, according to her, European companies have the right to use Ukrainian gas infrastructure, as there are no sanctions and there is interest from the official Kyiv.
What is important to understand is that the 2024 State of the Energy Community report indicates that energy prices are more stable and remain well below the peak levels of the 2022 energy crisis.
What does Ukraine say about this?
As already mentioned, the contract for the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine expires at the end of this year. Kyiv does not plan to extend it.
Recently, the head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that his team is conducting negotiations on the supply of natural gas from Azerbaijan to the EU, as it seeks to preserve its role as a transit country.
We will remind you that in mid-July, Slovakia and Hungary announced the suspension of Lukoil oil transit through Ukraine. The reason was sanctions introduced by Kyiv against this Russian company. Although Budapest claimed that Ukraine's decision violates the Association Agreement, the EU disagreed.
However, what is important to understand is that Kiev's sanctions against the Russian company Lukoil do not threaten energy flows to Hungary.
Official Brussels recently came to this conclusion.
