© European commission (audiovisual service)
– Margaret Westager
Gazprom’s decision to cut supplies despite growing demand is extremely rare as a business behavior and we are prioritizing it, European Commission Vice President and EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said on Thursday.
She said the Commission had sent questionnaires to energy suppliers in this area. “We have received many answers, but we are still waiting for others, including from Gazprom,” Vestager said.
“Energy prices are a priority for every household, for member states and for us, so we look forward to hearing from them to continue our analysis,” he added.
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Margrethe Vestager said that, depending on the analysis, the Commission could close the case, initiate a distortion procedure by imposing a fine or reaching an agreement with Gazprom “to end the practice and make concrete commitments”. For now, the investigation is too early to say in which direction it will continue, said the EU Commissioner for Competition.
On Wednesday, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) accused Russia of organizing the deepening energy crisis in Europe at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions, holding back up to a third of its gas exports.
Fatih Birol, the IAEA’s chief executive, has directly blamed Russia for Europe’s record high energy prices, which threaten to destroy large parts of the European economy and put millions of Europeans unable to cover their costs.
According to Birol, historically low levels of gas storage in Europe are largely due to Russia’s state-owned gas company Gazprom, which has sent about 25% less gas than usual to Europe in recent months despite a surge in demand following the economic downturn in 2020
“We believe that there are strong elements of shortages in the European gas market due to Russia’s behavior. I would like to note that today’s low Russian gas flows to Europe coincide with the increased geopolitical tensions around Ukraine,” Birol said.
Analysts say gas prices in Europe could fall by half if Russia agrees to increase its exports by 20%. Gazprom claims to strictly comply with all its supply contracts with European customers.
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