The European Commission is working on a complete ban on gas supplies from the Russian Federation through Ukraine

The European Commission (EC) is actively working to completely stop Russian gas supplies through the territory of Ukraine, said Tim McPhee, a representative of the European Commission. According to him, now the total volume of gas supplies from Russia through Ukrainian territory to Europe is about 15 billion cubic meters. m per year. The gas transit agreement expires on December 31, 2024, and the European Union does not intend to extend it.

Speaking at a press conference in Brussels, Tim McPhee recalled that Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and, in small quantities, Italy continue to receive Russian gas through Ukraine. “The European Commission is working closely with these countries to ensure they have the necessary gas supplies. I won’t talk about specific routes, but the point is that these countries can receive gas through other gas pipelines, as well as liquefied natural gas, and we are confident that this is possible,” said Mr. McPhee (quoted by TASS).

According to Mr. McPhee, the European Commission intends to compensate for this volume of gas through joint purchases by community countries through the European Energy Platform, which is managed by the EC. He noted that on February 27, on this platform, the EC held another tender for gas supplies for the next five years. The total demand for gas from European companies amounted to 34 billion cubic meters. m.

“The supply of international suppliers amounted to 97.4 billion cubic meters. m, that is, supply was almost three times higher than demand. Now consumers and suppliers will be able to agree on supply contracts among themselves,” the representative of the European Commission emphasized.

The European Union plans to completely phase out fossil fuel supplies from Russia by 2027. Among the EU countries, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Finland, the Netherlands and Denmark have already completely abandoned Russian gas.

In December 2023, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament developed preliminary agreement establishing new gas regulation aimed at decarbonizing the industry. With its adoption, EU countries will be able to block Russian suppliers’ access to gas transportation infrastructure, including liquefied natural gas terminals, at the national level. Restrictions for gas suppliers from the Russian Federation may primarily affect Gazprom and NOVATEK.

Why Europe’s dependence on gas from Russia is decreasing – in the Kommersant publication “It’s not the weather that’s reducing demand”.

Milena Kostereva