Critics point out the gas crisis is a reversal of the debt crisis of the last decade, and countries that were lectured about “frugality” then have voiced their reluctance to step in and make “unfair sacrifices'
European leaders announced this week that sanctions on Russia will extend until January 2023 over its incursion into Ukraine. Russia announced further cuts to its gas flows to Europe, particularly through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, connected to Germany.
The proposal for coordinated rationing, put forward by the European Commission last Wednesday, was quickly approved as the EU attempts to show a unified response. But a provision that would have given the Commission the power to impose mandatory targets if individual countries failed to achieve their own end of the bargain was scrapped.
But critics are already pointing out that during the 2010-12 sovereign debt crisis, southern European countries received no sympathy from Germany and other northern neighbours, forcing governments to implement austerity measures and cuts to public spending with huge consequences for society and the economy.
“We share the final goal of the commission’s proposals: solidarity must be at the core of the EU response in order to ensure security of supply. However, the response cannot rely on imposing unfair sacrifices,” she wrote. Countries exempt from it include the island states - Ireland, Greek Cypriot Adminstration and Malta - not connected to the EU’s pipelines and therefore unable to seek alternative supplies. The Baltic nations, not hooked to the EU’s electricity system and heavily reliant on gas for electricity, are also exempt from the target. Countries that exceed gas storage filling targets will also be among the exemptions.
As part of its sanctions package against Russia, the EU has agreed to embargo Russia’s oil and coal starting later this year. It has also set targets to wean itself off Russia’s natural gas, while refraining from cutting gas imports on which some member states are heavily reliant.
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