UPDATERussia is to blame for the high European gas prices because the country does not increase the supply of gas to Europe, while it could. That’s what the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. High gas prices are causing damage to European economies, for example because households and companies have to spend much more money on energy costs.
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According to IEA director Fatih Birol, Russia could increase gas supplies to Europe by a third from current levels. “There is a major shortage in the European gas market due to the behavior of Russia,” said Birol. He argues that the current low level of gas reserves in the European Union is largely due to the Russian state gas group Gazprom. Gazprom has always said it will stick to its delivery commitments to Europe.
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Birol states that Russian gas deliveries to Europe in the fourth quarter were a quarter lower than a year earlier. Russia is Europe’s main gas supplier. “Europe as a whole has not paid enough attention to the crucial role of gas storage in the security of its gas supplies.” He believes that European countries should apply certain minimum standards when holding gas reserves.
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Ukraine
The European gas price is also being pushed by the tensions between Moscow and the western countries over the Russian troop build-up on the border with Ukraine. Incidentally, the gas price has fallen somewhat recently because more tankers with liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States are on their way to Europe.
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Analysts from the American bank Citigroup write in a study that Europe could face the highest energy bill in ten years this year due to the sharp rise in gas and electricity prices. The bank thinks that the account could amount to 875 billion euros. That energy bill last year was more than 260 billion euros, according to Citigroup.
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The American bank states that natural gas provides about a quarter of Europe’s energy needs. Because gas is widely used in power plants, the electricity price is also rising. Several European governments have already announced measures to help households with soaring energy prices. In our country, Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V) is still looking at the option to lower the VAT on energy.
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