In 1970, West German gas politicians and executives have signed a landmark agreement with the Soviet Union that will shape European energy policy for the next half-century. West Germany promised to supply the Soviet Union with steel pipes, which in return the Soviet Union would extend a gas pipeline to the West German border and begin pumping Soviet gas beneath the Iron Curtain and into Western Europe. . Trade agreement is one of the forms Ostpolitik—A broader policy of thawing relations between the Soviet Union and West Germany would have helped then-West German chancellor Willy Brandt receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971.
Brandt – who died in 1992 – could not have imagined how bonded the two former enemies would become. At the time of German reunification in 1990, gas from the Soviet Union accounted for more than 30 percent the country’s gas consumption. By 2021, Russia supplies about 40% of natural gas to the European Union, with some smaller countries, such as Latvia, almost entirely dependent on Russia for their supplies. Germany, with its heavy steel industry and gas heating system, depends on Russia for just under half of its natural gas.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 exposed deep cracks in EU energy policy. Following EU sanctions on Russia, Russian state-controlled energy company Gazprom announced it was cutting gas exports through one of its main pipelines to around 20 percent capacity. The share of Russian gas entering Europe has fallen to 15%, forcing already high prices to new highs. In the UK, which is sensitive to international gas prices, the average energy bill is forecast to be close to four times their January 2019 levels.
“It is important for the EU to acknowledge that increasing dependence on Russia is a policy failure,” said Ganna Gladkykh, a researcher at the European Union for Energy Research. The continent is currently facing two challenges. First, a cold winter — or a few — with gas supplies stretched to their limits, could mean Mandatory power failure and the industry shut down. Second, Europe must reduce its dependence on Russian gas, reach new agreements with various suppliers, and accelerate the deployment of renewable gas. At the end of that path, Europe could enter a new era of energy security – no longer dependent on an unpredictable eastern neighbour, but with new dynamics that could bring its own problems. their own.
But first: the crunch. At the end of July, the member states of the European Union agreed reduce their gas needs by 15 percent Between August 2022 and March 2023. These measures are voluntary, but the EU Council has warned that they could be made mandatory if gas security reaches crisis levels. Some countries have taken small steps to limit energy demand. Cities in Germany are turn off public lights, lowered thermostats and closed swimming pools to reduce dependence on Russian gas. France has banned stores from running air-conditioners while they’re open, while Spain – which doesn’t import much of Russian gas – now bans air conditioning below 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit) in places public.
Natural gas is used in three main ways: to generate electricity in power plants, to heat homes and offices, and in industries such as steelmaking and fertilizer production. Although there are alternatives to gas in power plants — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has highlighted the possibility of extending the life of nuclear power plant to cut gas use — it’s much harder to find gas alternatives for industry and heating. The EU also has rules that protect households, hospitals, schools and other essential services from gas-saving measures.
