Germany refuses to purchase gas; a difficult winter awaits the country - Politico

Natural gas reserves in Europe are dangerously low, creating the risk of new energy problems if the war in Iran continues and cold weather drives up heating demand in winter. But the continent’s biggest energy consumer does not seem overly concerned. Politico reports, UNN informs.

Details

It is noted that Germany is the EU’s most vulnerable point, as its gas shortage could be felt in neighboring countries due to the scale of its consumption, leading to rising prices across the bloc if the country is unable to replenish its reserves.

This has prompted growing calls for Berlin to do the unthinkable: order its state-owned energy giants to buy gas at any price, abandoning the longstanding free-market doctrine in energy policy

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The authors point out that for now, the German government refuses to budge, "even though it is failing to meet the EU’s targets and faces the risk of a physical supply shortage as early as November."

The storage level is not only extremely low for this time of year, but also historically low

The publication adds that since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, EU countries have been required to reach gas storage targets of 90 percent of national capacity by winter to prevent serious supply shortages. The EU lowered this target to 80 percent after the war in Iran began, in order to prevent panic buying.

Previously

The European Union tightened sanctions against Russia in response to a recent series of Russian airstrikes on Ukraine.

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