The EU did not agree to a ban on gas supplies via pipelines from Russia

EU countries dependent on Russian gas have opposed a ban on pipeline gas supplies from Russia, writes Politico for European diplomats.

“From what I’ve heard, it’s very unlikely that it will pass,” said a European diplomat representing one of the countries that lost gas supplies from Russia last year. “Too much resistance from countries that depend on the remaining gas,” he explained.

The ban was supposed to be included in the 11th package of EU sanctions against Russia, but according to the source, the set of measures is “almost ready” and it is “unlikely” to include such a restriction at the moment.

Earlier, as Financial The Times, the G7 countries and the EU discussed the idea of ​​banning the supply of Russian gas through these pipelines, which were previously blocked by Moscow or stopped working. We are talking about Yamal-Europe, which connected Russia with Poland and Germany, as well as about Nord Streams, which were blown up.

Before the war in Ukraine broke out, Russia supplied nearly 40% of the gas needed by the EU. According to the Brueghel think tank, this number fell below 8% in 2023. after Russia suspended supplies via several gas pipelines.

Russia continues to supply Europe with relatively small amounts of gas via the Ukrainian transmission system and the Turkish Stream gas pipeline. Therefore, the European Commission has announced that it will overcome dependence on Russian energy resources. According to her, in the eight months of 2022, Russia reduced gas supplies to Europe by 80 percent, but the EU was able to compensate for this.

Against this background, the Russian authorities expect a decrease in gas exports to 50 billion cubic meters. in 2023. This will be half as much as in the first year of the war, when Gazprom sold 100 billion cubic meters to foreign markets – the minimum amount since the last years of the USSR.

As a result of the war and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s gas blackmail, Russian gas supplies to Europe will be reduced to 1980 levels. Then the USSR pumped 54.8 billion cubic meters abroad, and in 1985 increased exports to 69.4 billion cubic meters.