Media: by the end of the year, Europe will reduce its dependence on Russian gas to 13%

Does Europe have any plan in case Russia wants to cut off the pipe to the EU countries, as it has already done to Poland and Bulgaria? asks The Financial Times .

“Any country runs the risk of Moscow cutting off gas supplies,” said EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson. “An action plan for this case is already being developed.”

It is known that Gazprom has already stopped gas supplies to Poland, Bulgaria and Finland for refusing to comply with the Kremlin's decree on payment in rubles. Now these countries are being helped by their neighbors.

Now the EU is trying to build gas reserves that will meet the demand for this year. However, other measures must also be taken. For example, it is planned to ration the energy consumption of industrial enterprises without affecting households. The EU industry consumes today 27% of the total volume of gas, mainly the chemical, construction and food industries. The Energy Commission says it has developed measures to protect key food and drug supply chains.

Simson believes that this year Europe will be able to replace two-thirds of Russian gas. The European Union has already received record deliveries of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which have helped replenish underground reservoirs.

EU countries are rapidly increasing their capacity to process LNG, which is delivered by tankers and then turned back into gas and shipped via pipeline. Their annual capacity should soon reach 19 billion cubic meters (Russia's supplies are much higher - 155 billion cubic meters).

Last week, the Energy Commission unveiled a €210 million plan to cut Europe off from Russian gas. It includes reducing energy consumption and switching to renewable sources. If before the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, Europe received 40% of gas from Russia, now this figure has fallen to 26%. By the end of the year, the continent has a new goal - to reduce this dependence to 13%. To do this, countries will commission new LNG terminals and help those states that have no access to the sea (such as Hungary). An increase in gas supplies from the US, Norway and new partners is expected.