The European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, stated that 12 countries in the European Union are now completely or partially without Russian gas, adding that "Moscow's behavior in recent weeks has exacerbated risks." Simson said in a statement to the Estonian newspaper "Postimees" on Saturday that "the crisis has been severe since the beginning of last autumn, but Russia's behavior in recent weeks has significantly increased the risks."
She clarified that "the EU's crisis plan, which was prepared at the beginning of the year, could be useful at any moment, and member states must be ready to implement its plans." Simson mentioned that the EU reached an agreement last week to increase gas supplies with Israel and Egypt, enhance cooperation with Norway, and that direct negotiations with Azerbaijan are in their final stages.
According to her, the "significant disagreements" among energy ministers are due to issues related to electricity market activities, as well as the expansion of nuclear energy activities. The European official pointed out that "the commission cannot make decisions on this matter, and the choice of energy sources according to the fundamental European treaties is a sovereign right of the member states."
She added that discussions on these issues starting Monday in the EU are "extremely important so that the EU can face the winter in a unified manner and with the utmost preparation."
At the end of May, Russian gas supplies to Poland, Bulgaria, Finland, and the Netherlands were halted due to their refusal to accept the new settlement system proposed by Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced on May 9 that countries that refused to pay for Russian gas under the new rules had already been cut off from gas supplies. On June 14, Gazprom announced that it had to reduce gas supplies through the "Nord Stream" pipelines for technical reasons.
