How dependent is the EU really on Russian gas? What is the role of the Russian giant Gazprom in the European energy market? Response of Berd Riegert from Brussels.
One of the biggest winners of the energy crisis is Gazprom. The Russian state monopoly giant broke the profit record in 2021, announced in early January Alexei Miller, president of the energy giant and a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
About 43% of the gas consumed in the EU comes from Russia, while the rest, according to Eurostat, is covered by imports from Norway, the Middle East, the US, Algeria and Libya. It should be noted that Germany covers its gas needs by 55% from Gazprom. On the role of Gazprom in the energy crisis, energy expert Georg Chachman from the Bruegel think tank in Brussels explains: “It is clear that Gazprom is taking advantage of its strong market presence and influencing prices by fluctuating the amount of gas it supplies to the EU “.
Europe in dire straits
Over the past decade, Brussels has sought to create a single market for natural gas in the EU through a series of regulatory measures. In other words, Germany can buy, for example, gas from Russia, which it can then supply to Poland or Ukraine. It is in the interest of the Russian energy giant to have direct bilateral market agreements with member countries because it thus maintains a high level of dependence.
At the same time, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accuses Gazprom of failing to meet EU energy demand. “Prices have skyrocketed and demand is huge. A provider chooses not to increase supply over the best customer in the EU.”
Georg Chachman of the Bruegel think tank says: “You can negotiate indefinitely with the one who controls all the pressure levers. .
Byrd Riegert, Brussels
Edited by: Stefanos Georgakopoulos
Source: Deutsche Welle
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