European Commissioner: the EU is ready to completely cut off Russian gas

During the war between Russia and Ukraine, the share of Russian gas in the imports of European Union countries decreased sharply. And now, the EU is ready to completely cut off supplies from Moscow. The European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, made this statement.

She explained that the share of Russian gas in EU imports has decreased from 45% in 2021 to 18% by June 2024, while imports from such reliable partners as Norway and the USA have increased.

“We are no longer under the power of Putin’s pipelines, and we continue to support our Ukrainian partners as winter approaches,” Kadri Simson emphasized.

At the same time, the European Commissioner stressed that European companies have the right to use Ukrainian gas infrastructure, as there are no sanctions and there is interest from the Ukrainian side.

The 2024 State of the Energy Community report says that energy prices are more stable and remain well below the peak levels of the 2022 energy crisis.

The contract for the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine expires at the end of 2024, and Kyiv will not renew it.

In July, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is negotiating the supply of natural gas from Azerbaijan to the EU as it seeks to preserve its role as a transit country.

In the middle of July, Slovakia and Hungary announced the suspension of Lukoil oil transit through Ukraine. The reason was Kyiv’s sanctions against this Russian company. Although Budapest claimed that Ukraine’s decision violates the Association Agreement, the EU disagreed.

The European Commission reported on September 2 that Ukraine’s sanctions against the Russian company Lukoil do not pose a threat to Hungary’s energy flows.

Already on September 9, the Hungarian energy company Mol Nyrt. announced the conclusion of an agreement that will ensure the continuation of the supply of Russian oil through a pipeline passing through Ukraine’s territory.