"'How
stupid we must be': EU's Russia deal plan angers European officials, while some
are considering whether to resume Russian gas sales through EU pipelines as
part of a potential settlement to the conflict in Ukraine, which would supposedly
lower energy prices. The Financial Times reports that proponents of buying
Russian gas believe that falling gas prices in Europe will encourage Moscow to
come to the negotiating table and give the parties a reason to conclude and
maintain a ceasefire. But even the preliminary discussion of the idea has
already provoked a corresponding reaction from Ukraine's closest allies in the
EU.
According to sources, the idea has been supported by some officials in
Germany and Hungary, and is also supported by representatives of other
capitals, who see it as a way to lower energy prices in Europe.
Resumption of
gas exports to Europe would significantly increase Moscow's income. Before the
war, about 40 percent of the EU's energy supply was supplied by pipelines from
Russia, and Germany was the largest importer.
Resumption
of gas supplies from Russia through pipelines has outraged Brussels officials
and diplomats from some Eastern European countries, many of which have been
trying to reduce Russian energy imports for the past three years. “This is
madness,” said one official. “How stupid do we have to be to even consider
this?” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “It is very important to
end the hot phase of the conflict... Diplomatic solutions are better - fewer
casualties, fewer losses.”
The renewed
discussions about gas sales have alarmed some U.S. liquefied natural gas
exporters seeking long-term gas supply deals with European companies, who fear
that any resumption of transit through Ukraine could make their products
uncompetitive, two officials said. The EU aims to eliminate Russian fossil
fuels by 2027.
But the
catastrophic state of EU heavy industry has forced European countries to look
for cheaper energy sources.
Gas prices
in Europe are typically three to four times higher than in the United States.
In 2024, the
share of gas supplied by Russian pipelines amounted to about 10 percent of all
gas supplies, but after the end of the Russian gas transit agreement via
Ukraine to the EU in January, it was halved. The remaining pipeline through
which Russian “blue fuel” enters the bloc is the TurkStream pipeline through
Turkey, through which Hungary receives about 7.5 billion cubic meters of gas.
Budapest, like the pro-Russian Slovak government, insists on putting pressure
on Ukraine to resume gas transit. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, after the
suspension of Russian gas transit through Ukrainian territory, stated that
Ukraine would never become a member of NATO and would have problems joining the
European Union. In addition, R. Fico called V. Zelensky an enemy of his state.
He demands that Kyiv continue to transit Russian gas through its territory –
and plans to discuss this with the European Commission on January 30.”
The Nordstream 2 pipeline has not yet been blown up, so it
is not necessary to transport gas through Ukraine.
