"No Problem Getting Through This Winter" Europe Unfazed Even If Russian Gas Pipelines Are Shut Off

EU Commission "Prepared to Respond Even If Russia Does Not Honor Contracts"
Germany Has Already Stocked 85% of Its National Reserves

A photo taken on the 31st of last month (local time) of the headquarters building of the state-owned gas company Gazprom in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Gazprom announced that it will stop gas supply from that day until the 3rd of this month to maintain the compressor station of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline connecting Russia and Germany. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jung-wan] Although Russia has halted operations of the gas pipeline 'Nord Stream 1' leading to Germany, European countries have stated that they can get through the winter without Russian gas.

According to the New York Times (NYT) and others, European officials said they have been preparing for the possibility that Russia might completely cut off gas supplies, so even if the supply is limited, there will be no problem getting through this winter.

Paolo Gentiloni, the European Union (EU) Commissioner for Economy, emphasized, "The EU is well prepared to respond to Russia's extreme use of gas as a weapon." He added, "We are demanding that Russia respect contracts, but even if they do not, we are ready to respond."

Germany, which once depended most heavily on Russian natural gas in Western Europe, also stated through a spokesperson from the Ministry of Energy, "We have confirmed in recent weeks that Russia is unreliable, and we have continued to take various measures to become independent from Russian energy." The spokesperson emphasized, "As a result, we are much better prepared now than a few months ago." German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also said in an interview with domestic media, "Even if Russia's gas supply becomes very difficult again, we will be able to endure the winter."

Germany's Ministry of Energy announced that gas storage facilities in the country have already been filled close to the early October target of 85%. The ministry explained that the share of Russian gas in natural gas demand dropped to about 10% as of the end of last month, which is the result of diversifying gas import sources to places such as Northern Europe.

Germany is implementing strict energy-saving measures. The energy-saving rules mandated by the German government include measures such as limiting indoor temperatures in most public buildings to 18.8 degrees Celsius and prohibiting outdoor lighting after 10 p.m.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized Russia's decision to cut off gas supplies, saying, "Russia is trying to destroy the daily lives of all Europeans with energy weapons." In a national address that day, he said, "This winter, Russia is preparing a decisive energy attack against all of Europe," and emphasized, "To prevent this, all of Europe must unite more strongly, cooperate, and support each other."

On the 2nd, Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom suddenly announced that a leak was discovered a day before the scheduled completion of maintenance and resumption of gas supply for Nord Stream 1, which was planned for three days, and that gas supply would be completely stopped until the problem is resolved.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.