Putin was again calculated: how the EU managed to save over 100 billion cubic meters of gas
One of the main reasons for optimism-the enterprises and population of the European Union managed to reduce gas consumption by 101 billion cubic meters between August 2022 and December 2023. This was reported on the website of the European Commission. During this period, gas demand decreased by 18%, compared with average demand between April 2017 and March 2022. At the same time, the EU plan predicted that gas demand should be reduced by 15%.
This would avoid the problems that have arisen in the background of the energy crisis that provoked in Moscow. In the summer of 2022, the EU decided to adopt special temporary legislation to save "blue fuel". Temporary actions have been introduced by March 31, but now the European Commission is proposing not to give up voluntary savings.
It is noted that thanks to extraordinary measures, which was approved immediately after the full -scale invasion of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, the European Union was able to improve its energy prospects. For example, all this contributed to the fact that gas and electricity prices throughout Europe began to decline, after a sharp rise in price of 2022.
Given that political tension is still stored and the world gas markets are limited, the European Commission believes that the EU countries need to completely get rid of Russian fossil fuel. Therefore, further saving of gas is still necessary. Russia has tried to provoke an energy crisis before a full -scale invasion of Ukraine. Thus, in the fall of 2021, the Russian Gazprom reduced the supply of gas to the EU, which was why "blue fuel" in the European market rose sharply.
And immediately after the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation invaded the Ukrainian territory, the European Union decided not to buy Russian coal and to abandon gas from the Russian Federation. In addition, an embargo on Russian oil was introduced. In response, President Vladimir Putin demanded that European countries pay for gas to accounts in Russian Gazprombank, followed by a compulsory conversion of the euro in rubles.