Germany’s dependence on Russian gas addressed by Eva Maydell
Energy ministers will meet on July 26, the Czech Republic said Wednesday, as part of its rotating presidency of the European Union. A few days later, the European Commission is scheduled to make a proposal EU plan to curb demand for gas in the event of additional supply constraints by: Russiaand to help reduce the demand for gas to store more gas for the winter.
Rumor has it that the Kremlin plans to shut down the pipeline – the EU’s largest piece of gas importing infrastructure – for annual maintenance, raising fears of further disruption to gas supplies.
Germany, which imported £24.89 billion in natural gas last year, and Italy (£16.2 billion) are very concerned about the current situation.
In a stark illustration of the impact Russia’s behavior is having on EU energy policy, the European Parliament today controversially backed EU rules labeling investment in gas and nuclear power plants as climate-friendly.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (Image: GETTY)
Pipes at the Landfall Facilities of the Nord Stream 1 Gas Pipeline in Germany (Image: Reuters)
In doing so, they rejected an attempt to block the law, which has exposed deep rifts between countries on how to fight climate change.
The vote paves the way for the European Union’s proposal to be turned into law unless 20 of the bloc’s 27 member states decide to oppose the move, which is considered highly unlikely.
The new rules will add gas and nuclear power plants to the EU “taxonomy” rulebook from 2023, allowing investors to label investments in them as green and bring them to market.
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A worker inspects the area of the filter separator at the Gazprom PJSC Slavyanskaya compressor station (Image: GETTY)
Of the 639 lawmakers present, 328 opposed the motion to block the EU’s gas and nuclear energy proposals, while 278 voted against the proposals. About 33 abstained. Opponents of the new rules failed to gain the 353 votes needed to gain a majority in the 705-seat parliament.
This will come as a relief to the European Commission, which proposed the rules in February after more than a year of delays and intense lobbying from the government and the gas and nuclear industries.
On Tuesday, EU chief of financial services Mairead McGuinness insisted: “There will be no greenwashing.”
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Members of the European Parliament during a voting session (Image: GETTY)
Protesters shout from the stands during a voting session of MEPs (Image: GETTY)
The debate over gas and nuclear rules has divided EU countries, legislators and investors. Brussels has rewritten the rules several times, raising the question of whether gas-fired power stations should be given a green label. The final proposal fueled a heated discussion about how to meet climate targets amid a crisis with Russia over its gas supplies.
Nuclear energy is free of CO2 emissions, but produces radioactive waste. Gas produces emissions that warm the planet, but some EU countries see it as a transition fuel in the shift from dirtier coal.
Nuclear dependent France and heavily coal-consuming Poland were some of the proponents of the new rules. The governments of Austria and Luxembourg have threatened to take the EU to court if their proposal becomes law, while Denmark and others warned the move would undermine the EU’s credibility in the fight against climate change if it labeled CO2 emitting gas green. .
Pre-war gas imports from Russia by country (Image: Express)
Also today, the euro hit another two-decade low against the dollar as fears of rising energy prices and potential shortages cast a shadow over the bloc’s economy, despite some reassuring headlines about gas supplies.
All oil and gas fields affected by a strike in the Norwegian petroleum sector are expected to be fully operational within a few days, Equinor said.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs raised its forecasts for natural gas prices, saying a full recovery of Russian gas flows through Nordstream1 was no longer the most likely scenario.
Analysts expect a rapid rebound in oil prices as supply tights continue and first-month spreads held up despite Tuesday’s price drop.
The Nordstream gas pipeline terminal (Image: GETTY)
Moritz Paysen, forex and interest rate advisor at Berenberg, said: “The threat of non-delivery is not just weighing on the euro.
“The already high energy costs are a burden. Energy costs in Europe are many times higher than in the US.”
Separately, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which transports oil from Kazakhstan to the Black Sea through one of the world’s largest pipelines, has been ordered by a Russian court to suspend operations for 30 days, although sources said exports are yet to come. always flowed.
CPC, which processes about one percent of global oil, said the ruling to suspend operations related to paperwork over oil spills and said the consortium, which includes US companies Chevron and Exxon, must abide by the ruling of Tuesday’s court.