THE European Union proposed a ceiling for the price of Russian natural gas this Wednesday (7), hours after the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin threaten to cut off all supplies if such a measure were taken, increasing the risk of rationing in some of the world’s richest countries in the Northern Hemisphere winter.
The escalating stalemate threatens to drive up oil prices even further. gas at Europe adding to the bills EU governments are paying to keep their energy suppliers from collapsing and keep cash-strapped customers from freezing over the coming cold months.
Europe has accused the Russia of using energy supplies as a weapon in retaliation for Western sanctions imposed on Moscow by your invasion of Ukraine . Russia blames these sanctions for the gas supply problems, attributing them to pipeline failures.
European Union energy ministers will hold an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss how to deal with the energy crisis.
“We are going to propose a ceiling on the price of Russian gas… We have to cut the revenues from Russia that Putin uses to finance this atrocious war in Ukraine,” said the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen to reporters.
The Commission also presented other measures including a mandatory cut in electricity use during peak hours and a cap on revenue from energy generated from other sources.
Earlier, at an economic forum in Vladivostok, Putin anticipated the move, warning that supply contracts could be canceled and that the West would freeze “like a wolf’s tail”, referring to a famous Russian fairy tale.
“Will there be any political decisions that contradict the contracts? If so, we simply will not comply. We will not provide anything if it contradicts our interests,” Putin said.
“We will not supply gas, oil, coal, heating oil – we will not supply anything,” the Russian leader said.
Europe generally imports around 40% of its natural gas and 30% of its Petroleum from Russia.
The Group of Seven (G7 ) rich countries announced plans to impose a price cap on Russian oil exports last week, in a move that could also restrict Russia’s ability to secure the shipment of tankers to countries beyond the G7.
The increase in prices of energy is forcing companies to reduce their production and governments to spend billions on support to cushion the impact on consumers.
Source: CNN Brasil
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