EU Energy Crisis Continues As Russia Reduces Gas Supply; Greece Seeks Exemption To New Rules

The incoming energy crisis in Europe continues to worsen as Russia’s Gazprom plans to reduce their natural gas supply provided to Europe on Tuesday to 20%, keeping the country from replenishing their supply in time for the winter.

Gazprom said that it will reduce the natural gas supplied to Europe to 20% due to maintenance work on the Nord Stream 1, while countries in the European Union, including Germany, accuse Russia of weaponizing their gas supply after Europe’s continued backing of Ukraine, according to the BBC.

The European Union has recently been trying to curb their natural gas usage as Russia continues to throttle their supply, proposing that non-German countries cut their gas usage by 15% so that Germany, who is incredibly reliant on Russian gas in the winter, can continue to survive on the meager amounts provided, the Guardian reported.

This resolution has been unpopular with many states to the south of Germany, with countries like Spain and Greece refusing to sign off on the proposal due to the perceived unfairness in the deal.

“They cannot demand a sacrifice from us for which we have not been asked for an opinion,” Teresa Ribera, Spain’s minister for ecological transition, said. “We have not lived beyond our means in terms of energy.”

Greece, which relies on Russian gas for 40% of its energy needs, is also seeking a reprieve from the 15% reduction proposed by the E.U. after it shifted its liquified natural gas needs towards imports from non-Russian countries, Reuters reported.

“Greece will try to change this proposal tomorrow, so that the country is exempted from that cut,” Greece spokesperson Giannis Oikonomou said.

Many have criticized Germany for how short-term its thinking has been in regards to the energy needs of their country by relying so closely on Russian gas, with even German media criticizing the government for its policies.

“Some states suffered heavily during the financial crisis and had to bear the lectures of the Germans,” the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper wrote. “And now they are meant to massively save gas to bail out those same Germans, who have brought this situation on themselves with a misguided energy policy.”

“Putin is playing a perfidious game,” German energy minister Robert Habeck said. “He is trying to weaken the great support for Ukraine and drive a wedge into our society. To do this, he stirs up uncertainty and drives up prices. We are countering this with unity and concentrated action.”