The European Commission is ready to arm Vladimir Putin by limiting the price of Russian gas

Faced with rising gas and electricity prices at the end of summer, Europeans want to act to protect the purchasing power of households and the competitiveness of businesses. There is no question of adding social upheaval to the crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, as France experienced with the “yellow vests”, nor of further increasing the risks of an already looming recession.

In recent days, proposals have been circulated from the four corners of the old continent, and the Commission in Brussels has tested several scenarios. While European energy ministers are due to meet on Friday, September 9, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the Community’s executive, presented on Wednesday the lines of work she will present to them on this occasion. The discussions promise to be lively, as energy mixes differ from one country to another, but they will allow him to return in the coming days with a more detailed proposal.

On the gas front, Angela Merkel’s former minister recalled that the 27 agreed on July 26 to cut their consumption by 15% by March 31, 2023, to prepare for a winter without Russian hydrocarbons. Today, stocks are filling up to 82% of their capacity, which the commissioner says allows them to “Coping with 2.5 months of consumption in a cold winter”. At the same time, Europeans turned to new suppliers (USA, Norway, Algeria, etc.) and accelerated the use of renewable energy.

“Cut income” from the Kremlin

So far, they have not had to close plants or ration energy, even though Moscow has sharply cut supplies: before the war, the European Union (EU) depended on Russian gas for 10% of its energy; Today, this indicator has dropped to 2.5%. But prices have risen, while Moscow “Use gas as a weapon”, argues Ursula von der Leyen. A drought this summer that has reduced hydropower production and difficulties at several nuclear power plants, particularly in France, have not helped.

In this context, Ursula von der Leyen wants to limit the price of Russian gas imported by the EU and “Reduce Income” of the Kremlin, who serve “Fund this brutal war against Ukraine”. Vladimir Putin, on Wednesday morning, warned: if such agreements are accepted, “We don’t supply gas, oil, coal, heating oil – we don’t supply anything”. Nevertheless, the Commission decided to take this risk, since the Europeans almost succeeded in six months without Russian hydrocarbons.