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🌍🔗 EU's Strategic Continuation of Russian LNG Imports: A Pragmatic Choice In light of the ongoing Ukraine conflict, the EU's decision to continue importing Russian LNG is a testament to the pragmatic realities of energy needs in Europe, as discussed in a recent Deutsche Welle article. Despite geopolitical tensions, the need for stable and reliable energy supplies has led to not just a continuation, but an increase in LNG imports from Russia. This choice underscores a broader understanding within the EU that energy security is paramount. In times of high demand and fluctuating global energy markets, Russian LNG remains a vital component of the European energy mix. This continued reliance is driven by the practical necessity to keep energy supplies stable and affordable across the continent. The increase in LNG imports also reflects a realistic approach by the EU, acknowledging that immediate alternatives to Russian gas are not yet sufficient to meet all energy demands. This situation presents an opportunity for businesses and governments to think pragmatically about energy sourcing, balancing idealistic goals with the realities of current energy infrastructure and market capacities. https://lnkd.in/dnH3NMcM #EnergyRealism #RussianLNG #EU #Geopolitics #EnergySecurity 🌍🔥🔗

#Germany continues to import Russian #LNG, indirectly financing Putin's war against Ukraine. Between May 16, 2023, and May 16, 2024, Germany imported €182.4 million worth of Russian #oil products via Turkish refineries. In 2023, Europe imported a total of 18.5 billion cubic meters of Russian LNG, a large portion of which reached Germany through neighbouring countries like #Belgium, #France and the #Netherlands. Despite reducing its dependence, up to 6% of Germany’s gas may still come from Russia. With renewable #energy sources and alternative LNG suppliers ready to replace Russian imports, Germany can stop this. A total ban is not only feasible by the end of 2024 but crucial for national security and to stop fueling the war in #Ukraine. It’s time for decisive action. Click here to sign the letter urging the German government to stop buying Russian gas - https://lnkd.in/e2avYASw Read my full article co-authored with Petras Katinas, Energy Analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), for Tagesspiegel. English version here - https://lnkd.in/ekwwwkDQ Robert Habeck Deutscher Bundestag Friedrich Merz Christian Lindner #StandWithUkraine

#Germany continues to import Russian #LNG, indirectly financing Putin's war against Ukraine. Between May 16, 2023, and May 16, 2024, Germany imported €182.4 million worth of Russian oil products via Turkish refineries. In 2023, Europe imported a total of 18.5 billion cubic meters of Russian LNG, a large portion of which reached Germany through neighbouring countries like Belgium, France and the Netherlands. Despite reducing its dependence, up to 6% of Germany’s #gas may still come from Russia. With renewable #energy sources and alternative LNG suppliers ready to replace Russian imports, Germany can stop this. A total ban is not only feasible by the end of 2024 but crucial for national security and to stop fueling the war in Ukraine. It’s time for decisive action. Click here to sign the letter urging the German government to stop buying Russian gas - https://lnkd.in/eTqCT_UW Read the full article by Svitlana Romanko, Founder and Executive Director of Razom We Stand & Petras Katinas, Energy Analyst at Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) for Tagesspiegel. English version here - https://lnkd.in/e5JcKutU Robert Habeck Deutscher Bundestag Friedrich Merz Christian Lindner Vitsche B4Ukraine

Ukraine, which has been defending itself against a Russian war of aggression for almost three years, is stopping the transit of Russian gas at the beginning of the year. A corresponding transit contract is expiring, and Kiev had announced long in advance that it would not be extended. In mid-December, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated that his country would not allow Russia to earn "additional billions" with "our blood". The halt in transit poses problems in the EU for Slovakia, which has a long-term contract with the Russian company Gazprom, as well as for non-EU member Moldova. In 2023, EU member states covered less than ten percent of their natural gas needs with supplies from Russia, compared to over 40 percent in 2021. #Ukrainewar #Gasdeliveries

Not importing Russian gas anymore, but … Russian #ammonia instead! Europe’s #fertiliser industry association Fertilisers Europa is warning of the growing dependence of Russian ammonia, which is not subject to sanctions. 💵 With high prices for gas – which makes up almost 90% of the cost for fertilisers - European companies have been shutting down plants, and Russia has been able to increase its share of the European fertiliser market to 30%. It is also greatly increasing its capacity at the moment. Russian ammonia is produced in an environmentally very unsustainable way ➡️ another reason to import #greenammonia from countries like Australia! Article in German and behind pay wall - linked to acknowledge the source.

#Slovakia's Kremlin-friendly PM Robert Fico said the termination of the gas transit deal between #Kyiv and Moscow would have a "drastic impact" on the #EU. #Ukraine's decision to stop Russian gas flowing to EU states through its pipelines will hurt the bloc rather than Moscow, Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico has said. Russian gas exports via Soviet-era pipelines running through Ukraine were halted on 1 January after Kyiv refused to renew a pre-war transit deal with the Kremlin's state energy giant Gazprom. The arrangement between Kyiv and Moscow had been in place for decades. Slovakia had spent months trying to persuade Ukraine to renew the deal due to its reliance on cheap Russian gas, arguing that a failure to do so would lead to increased energy prices domestically and higher costs for the EU. Fico and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly argued in recent weeks as the end of the deal drew nearer. "Halting gas transit via Ukraine will have a drastic impact on us all in the EU — but not on the Russian Federation," Fico said in a New Year’s Day address posted on social media. Fico previously said the end of the gas deal could cost the EU €120 billion over the next two years or so. Slovakia would lose up to €500 million annually in transit fees, he said. Ukraine will not allow transit of Russian gas with Azeri label, Zelenskyy says, dashing Slovak hopes The country's Kremlin-friendly PM met Russian President Vladimir Putin  last month in Moscow to discuss gas supplies among other issues. Fico is only the third EU leader to have visited Putin in the Kremlin since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Following that visit, Fico last week said Slovakia would consider "reciprocal measures" against Ukraine, such as halting backup electricity supplies to its eastern neighbour. Kyiv dismissed the threat immediately, and Poland said it is prepared to boost energy exports to Ukraine in such a scenario. Slovakia had been receiving about 3 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas annually from Russia via Ukraine, amounting to two-thirds of its needs. However, Bratislava said this week that it will not face a gas shortage due to the loss of Russian supply. Last year, Slovakia signed a short-term pilot contract to buy natural gas from Azerbaijan and a deal to import US-sourced liquefied natural gas through a pipeline from Poland. Slovakia can also receive gas through Austrian, Hungarian and Czech networks, enabling imports from Germany among other potential suppliers.

#russiangas vs #Europe Russian President Vladimir Putin met Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in the Kremlin on Sunday, a rare visit by a European Union leader to Moscow as a contract allowing for Russian gas to transit through Ukraine nears expiry. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had said on Thursday that Kyiv could consider continued transit of Russian gas, but only on condition that Moscow did not receive payment until after the war - a condition it was unlikely to accept. Putin said that day that it was clear there would be no new deal with Kyiv to send Russian gas through Ukraine to Europe. Here is what happens if Russian gas transit via Ukraine is completely turned off and whom will be affected most. HOW BIG ARE THE VOLUMES? Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine are relatively small. Russia shipped about 15 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas via Ukraine in 2023 - only 8% of peak Russian gas flows to Europe via various routes in 2018-19. Russia spent half a century building its European gas market share, which at its peak stood at 35%. Moscow has lost its share to rivals such as Norway, the United States and Qatar since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which spurred the EU to cut its dependence on Russian gas. EU gas prices rallied in 2022 to record highs after the loss of Russian supplies. The rally won't be repeated given modest volumes and a small number of customers for the remaining volumes, according to EU officials and traders. Russia's overall gas exports via the route have held steady despite the stoppage of flows from Gazprom to Austria's OMV (OMVV.VI), opens new tab in mid-November over a contractual dispute. UKRAINIAN ROUTE STILL WORK? While remaining Russian gas transit volumes are small, the issue remains a dilemma for the EU. Many EU members such as France and Germany have said they will not buy Russian gas anymore but the stance of Slovakia, Hungary and Austria, which have closer ties to Moscow, challenges the EU common approach. The countries, who still receive Russian gas, argue it is the most economic fuel and also blame neighbouring EU countries for high transit fees imposed on alternative supplies. Ukraine still earns $0.8-$1 billion in transit fees per year from Russian gas transit. According to Reuters calculations, Gazprom's total pipeline gas exports to Europe via all routes in 2024 have increased to 32 bcm from 28.3 bcm in 2023, when they collapsed to the lowest level since the 1970s. Russia could earn around $5 billion on sales via Ukraine this year based on an average Russian government gas price forecast of $339 per 1,000 cubic metres, according to Reuters calculations. Russia has said it would be ready to extend the transit deal but Kyiv has repeatedly said it will not do it. Source: Reuters 👇 https://lnkd.in/d6mqgRpV #energy #gas #geopolitics

It appears that Putin gave Fico the order to open the second energy front against Ukraine at the expense of the Slovak people’s interests. Fico's threats to cut off Ukraine's emergency power supply this winter while Russia attacks our power plants and energy grid can only be explained by this. The only reasons Ukraine now needs to import electricity are Russia's occupation of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant and its use of missiles and "Shahed" drones to purposefully destroy a large portion of Ukraine's heat and hydroelectric power generation. Thanks to the heroic efforts of our energy workers and the life-saving cooperation with the EU, the U.S., the UK, Norway, Japan, and other partners we have managed to prevent a blackout in Ukraine. And now Fico is dragging Slovakia into Russia's attempts to cause more suffering for Ukrainians. We need to remind Fico of three things. First and foremost, supporting Russian aggression is completely immoral. Second, Fico's shortsighted policy has already deprived the Slovak people of compensation for losing Russian gas transit. It now risks depriving the Slovaks of another $200 million per year, which Ukraine pays for the imported electricity. Yes, this critical import does not come free, and the cost is significant. Third, everyone in Europe, including the people of Slovakia, will find it much more profitable from every perspective to work with neighbours and the EU to increase Europe's energy resource supply, including gas from America and other partners. Only this can reduce energy costs for the majority of families. Slovakia's share of Ukraine's electricity imports is roughly 19%. The government of Ukraine is working with our EU neighbours to sustain the required volumes of electricity supply. Slovakia is part of the single European energy market and Fico must respect common European rules. Any arbitrary decisions in Bratislava or Moscow's orders to Fico regarding electricity cannot cut Ukraine's power supply, but they can certainly cut current Slovak authorities' ties to the European community. Written by Volodymyr Zelenskyy

(Deutsche Welle) "War in Ukraine: Why is the EU still buying Russian gas?" Although the EU has dramatically reduced the amount of Russian gas it imports, significant quantities are still flowing into the bloc. More than two years since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, its gas is still flowing into Europe. While the European Union has greatly reduced the amount of gas it imports from Russia, the hydrocarbon is still powering some European homes and businesses and boosting Kremlin revenues as a result. When the war began, European leaders were forced to reckon with a long-established dependence on both Russian gas and oil. Gas was a particular problem, as in 2021, 34% of the EU's gas came from Russia. Countries in Central and Eastern Europe were especially dependent. When the EU mooted a ban, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was quick to voice his opposition. "Europe has deliberately exempted energy supplies from Russia from sanctions. At the moment, Europe's supply of energy for heat generation, mobility, power supply and industry cannot be secured in any other way," he said. Vladimir Putin seized on this. Throughout 2022, Russia cut gas imports to Europe. European leaders fretted about a winter energy shortage. These fears were never realized, but crucially, they meant the EU never actually sanctioned Russian gas. How LNG imports from Russia replaced pipeline gas: According to EU data, the share of Russian pipeline gas member states imported fell from 40% of the total in 2021 to about 8% in 2023. However, when Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is included the total share of Russian gas in the EU's total last year was 15%. A key way the EU reduced its reliance on Russian gas was by increasing LNG imports from countries such as the United States and Qatar. However, this has inadvertently led to a surge of heavily discounted Russian LNG entering the bloc. Yet much of this LNG is not needed by the European market and is being handled at European ports before being reexported to third countries worldwide, with some EU states and EU companies profiting as a result. Several EU members, such as Sweden, Finland and the Baltic States, are putting pressure on the bloc to enact a total ban on Russian LNG. Although the Nord Stream pipelines are not operational and the Yamal pipeline no longer brings Russian gas to Europe, Russian gas still flows into Austria's Baumgarten gas hub via pipelines that cross Ukraine. Hungary has continued to import pipeline Russian gas in large quantities via Turkey's Turkstream, is also from Russia. The EU says it wants the bloc to be completely free of Russian gas by 2027. On LNG, in addition to EU action, it is up to high-volume LNG importers such as Spain and Belgium to take measures themselves. Website: