Brussels’ energy policy could exacerbate EU’s chronic gas crisis — expert

MOSCOW, August 25. /TASS/. The European Union’s decision to abandon reliable gas supply routes and rely on new suppliers could only exacerbate the energy crisis, which has already become chronic for Europe, Igor Yushkov, an expert at the Financial University and the National Energy Security Fund, wrote in a column for TASS.

Norway has remained the largest gas supplier to the European Union since 2022, though its resource base is gradually depleting, while the development of new fields is hampered by environmental restrictions and a lack of investment, he said. At the same time, US LNG is primarily supplied to the most lucrative markets, forcing European consumers to compete with Asian buyers, the expert added. "In the long term, abandoning reliable routes and the selfishness of new suppliers can only exacerbate the energy crisis, which has already become chronic for Europe," Yushkov noted.

Statements by European Commission representatives that Norway and the US have become the key gas suppliers to the EU are intended to create a sense of stability, despite the persisting challenges facing the European gas market, he stressed. That said, exchange-traded gas prices in Europe have once again exceeded $800 per 1,000 cubic meters, and the filling level of European underground storage facilities remains significantly below last year’s figures. "The European leadership is therefore attempting to use figures from Norway and the US to mask the true scale of energy problems and create an appearance of stability. However, the EU’s market favorites are merely partners of convenience with their own commercial and technological limitations," the expert concluded.

Earlier, European Commission spokesperson Eva Hrncirova stated at a briefing in Brussels that Norway had become the EU’s top gas supplier for the first time, with the US in second place.