The Chairman of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Layen believes that it should be prepared for the worst situation with gas supplies to the European Union. She stated this in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo.
“We must remain uniform because the only responsible for this energy crisis is in Moscow and nowhere. Taking into account that Russia has already partially or completely stopped supplying gas to 12 states [EU], we must all be ready To the worst situation, ”she said.
According to her, some countries of the European Union are more dependent on Russian gas “either because of its geographical position or because of its sovereign energy solutions.” “These countries are now in a more vulnerable position,” she said, adding that problems “with deliveries to any of these countries is a shock for Europe as a whole.” “Our economies are closely interconnected through a single market,” said von der Lyain.
“Now the EU is referring to more reliable energy partners. We have already reached the record volumes of liquefied natural gas from the United States, and the volumes of gas from Norway, the countries of the Persian Gulf, Algeria or the Caspian Sea and from more and more countries of the world are increasing. The first half of 2022 we additionally imported 38 billion cubic meters of LNG and gas through gas pipelines not from Russia. This more than compensates for the reduction of 28 billion cubic meters of gas supplies to the Russian gas pipeline, ”explained von der Lyayen.
In her opinion, “Spain could redirect the supply of LNG to other states – members of [EU] to help them provide sufficient gas supplies, as well as strengthen the gas pipeline connecting it with France to directly send more gas.”