EU leaders have balked at the US proposal to cut off their supply, proof the US does not understand how Putin's gas is a powerful weapon. The Biden administration is tone-deaf about the energy policy between the Brussels and Moscow is more complicated than expected.
In the meantime, the European Union will have to deal with its dependence on Russian gas supplies.
EU Energy Supply Dependent on Russian Gas
This relationship was warned to have dire consequences, and the bloc would be at a disadvantage as western experts have always thought Moscow has an edge, reported the Express UK.
Sources say that Brussels is trying to lessen its over-dependency on Russian gas supplies and oil this year.
Russia has been pumping 40 percent of the gas needed by Italy, Germany, and central European members, making them very dependent, including 25 percent supplies of crude oil for the union. Some members in control, like Germany, are under pressure to allow themselves a strategic position but needy of energy supplies.
The US and other bloc members forced German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to close down Nord Stream 2, but Nord Stream 1 is still working. After Crimea got annexed by Moscow, the NS 2 was in play which is one of the main reasons the conflict was brought about based on western opinion, noted Financial Times.
In 2015 when the deal was signed, several countries, including the US, Poland, UK, and Ukraine, were not at ease with the project. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson at that time was saying it would not be suitable for the union to be dependent on the former USSR, and EU members would not benefit from Putin's gas.
Ukraine's Problem With Pipelines of Russian Gas
Several factors exist why dependence on Russian gas is more convenient; it's cheap, easy to transport, and has a ready supply that makes it attractive for European leaders.
Russia owns the Siberian Fields, the largest supply globally in a vast world needing energy. Moscow started exporting to Poland in the 40s and built pipelines during the 60s to provide energy for all its members when the Soviet Union existed. The cold war raged until Perestroika, and after, supplies were flowing without issue.
After the disbanding of former soviet republics under the Soviet Union, Kyiv and Moscow have been squabbling over the pipelines laid down when the USSR existed. Other routes were made, bypassing Ukraine, things changed for the better.
About one-third of Russian gas pumped to the bloc would pass through Ukraine. Problems with greedy over-pricing and supply of gas via Ukraine sources lead the Kremlin to reroute the energy supply. A second shut down for two weeks in the middle of winter caused Slovakia and the Balkan belt to ration energy. Many factories got closed and less power to consumers, citing Reuters.
After that, many countries have avoided Ukraine and bypassed it, even US and Middle eastern suppliers were avoided for higher prices.
All the pipelines built by Russia to provide energy to Europe have given it clout and geopolitical weaponry against the west, making powerless problematic for the bloc. EU members are dependent on Putin's gas which is not overpriced compared to when it passed Ukraine.
Related Article : Chancellor Olaf Scholz Reluctant To Shutdown Nord Stream 1 as It Would Affect Germany's Natural Gas Reservoirs
