Gascade gas compressor station in Eisleben. File photoMOSCOW, May 1.The European Union will be able to meet the targets for filling gas storage facilities in the event of refusing two-thirds of the “blue fuel” from Russia only if industrial enterprises are disconnected from gas in the spring and summer, according to the German magazine Der Spiegel. Statements by the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen that Europe is ready to suspend Russian gas supplies in case of refusal to pay in rubles, are «too beautiful to be true,» the newspaper writes. Thus, many experts question the assurances of EC Vice President Frans Timmermans that the EU will be able to replace two-thirds of Russian gas supplies and fill its storage facilities up to 80 percent by November.
Media: the next year and a half will be difficult for EuropeAccording to the model of the Jülich Research Center, such a scenario can be realized only with the implementation of a «tough step»: the EU will have to limit gas supplies to industry in the spring and summer. According to the publication, scientists have come to the conclusion that with a two-thirds reduction in Russian gas supplies, it is impossible to fill the storage facilities with volumes sufficient to pass the winter period. According to the researchers, subject to a reduction in supplies from Russia to fill European storage facilities by 63 percent by August 1 all steel, chemical or cement plants in the EU must be cut off from gas from now until the end of July, and gas-fired power plants will have to stop work for most of July. At the same time, in order to fill the storage facilities by 80 percent by November 1, it will be necessary to again limit the gas supply to industry during October, the center's specialists believe. will only be possible under conditions of significant restrictions for industry and power plants,» emphasized Jochen Linsen, professor at the Jülich Center.Sanctions could harm the EU more than Russia, says Greek Prime Minister As Der Spiegel notes, the EU's refusal of about one hundred billion cubic meters of Russian «blue fuel» cannot be compensated either by additional supplies of pipeline gas from Norway, Algeria or Azerbaijan, or by a further increase in imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). So, at the moment, Europe is importing record volumes of LNG, but this resource is already becoming scarce.» Apparently, even the Council of EU Member States does not believe that the goal set by Timmermans to abandon Russian gas by two-thirds by the end of the year can be achieved. In his numerous decisions on the energy issue, to date, he has not confirmed any of the figures presented by the European Commission: neither on the reduction of imports, nor on the level of storage filling,» the publication concludes. Earlier on Wednesday, von der Leyen called Gazprom's statements about the suspensions gas supplies to a number of countries by an attempt at blackmail, adding that the EU is ready for such a scenario. In response, the Kremlin stated that they reject the accusations of the head of the European Commission of blackmail due to the transition to gas payments in rubles and categorically disagree with such statements. As presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov pointed out, the new approach is a response to the theft of Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves. After the start of a special operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine, the West stepped up sanctions pressure on Moscow. Many countries have announced the freezing of Russian assets, and calls to abandon energy sources have become louder. Against this background, since April 1, Moscow began to accept payments for gas from unfriendly states in rubles in order to get away from settlements in dollars and euros. Vladimir Putin stressed that the refusal to conduct transactions in the Russian currency would be considered as a failure to fulfill obligations under contracts. Since April 27, Gazprom has suspended fuel exports to Bulgaria and Poland due to non-payment.
