EU may cut its Russian gas purchases by more than a third in a year

The European Union (EU) could reduce its imports of Russian natural gas by more than a third in a year if it implements a series of recommendations formulated this Thursday by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The catalog of ten measures proposed by the IEA ranges from not signing new supply contracts with Russia to seeking other suppliers, promoting all kinds of alternatives (renewable, biomass or nuclear) and improving energy efficiency.

“No one is delusional anymore. Russia’s use of its natural gas resources as an economic and political weapon shows that Europe must act quickly to deal with considerable uncertainties about Russian supplies next winter.”, said the executive director of the IEA, fatih birol.

The proposed measures include establishing a minimum gas storage capacity to have more resistance to market shocks and a mechanism so that the price of electricity is less sensitive to the increase in the price of gas.

The reduction of Europe’s energy dependence on Russia, especially natural gas but also oil, will be one of the key issues to be addressed by the informal summit of EU leaders to be held on 10 and 11 March in Versailles (France).

Europe cannotdepend on others, especially Russian gas”, affirmed the French president, Emmanuel Macronduring the televised speech to the country that he delivered on Wednesday night, and in which he advanced that the community summit will begin to make decisions

The European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simsonannounced during the presentation of the IEA that next week it will offer a plan to reduce the EU’s dependence on Russian gas, a plan that will take into account the recommendations of the agency, which is based in Paris.