The horrors of the last hours of the war rekindle the debate on the European need for disengage entirely from imports of Russian gas. Kiev’s foreign minister asked for “new devastating sanctions” from the G7 Dmytro Kulebawhich, among other things, would like an “embargo on Petroleum, gas and coal“. “How many Buchas does it take before moving on to a full embargo on Russian oil and gas? Time is up ”, writes the secretary of the Democratic Party on Twitter Enrico Letta. And also the German Defense Minister Christina Lambrecht declares in a TV interview that it is necessary to address the issue of stopping gas deliveries in Europe. “There has to be a reaction, these crimes cannot go unanswered,” she says.
How many # bushing before we move to a full oil and gas Russia embargo? Time is over.
– Enrico Letta (@EnricoLetta) April 3, 2022
The energy strategy of almost all EU countries, however, is not yet suitable for ensuring independence e the European Council at the end of March was unable to find an agreement even on a common ceiling to be imposed on the price of Russian gas, requested by the Mediterranean states and opposed by the “Northern Front” led by Germany and the Netherlands. Yesterday the foreign minister Luigi Di Maio visiting Baku announced that imports from Azerbaijan through the Tap pipeline will grow by 2.5 billion cubic meters per year: but it is little more than a drop in the bucket, given that the 7 billion reached last year cover less than 10% of Italian consumption, while the Russian share is about 40%. “It took the Bucha massacre to get the request to stop all imports from Russia, including gas, from many places, after 40 days of atrocity. If instead of relying on the sending of weapons and marginal economic sanctions, the blocking of imports had been immediately decided, now perhaps Putin would be at a table to negotiate “, attacks the deputy of Liberi e equuali Stefano Fassina. And also for the secretary of + Europe Benedetto della Vedova “Suspending the purchase of Russian gas until the ceasefire would be right and humane. Let’s try and look together in Europe for a reasonable way to do it, ”he says.
Germany e Austria in the meantime they have early warning activated provided by the energy emergency plan, which provides for a careful monitoring of gas reserves and consumption. According to German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, the overall supply is still guaranteed, but “every consumer, from businesses to individuals, will also have to reduce their consumption as much as possible“, he precised. The government too Dutch has launched a media campaign to persuade citizens to consume less energy: an advertisement in the newspapers invites them to stay less time in the shower and not to heat their homes above 19 degrees. To set a good example, all public offices they will lower the temperature by two degrees. By adopting the measures indicated, it says, “your energy bill will decrease, our dependence on Russian gas will be reduced and the climate will be good”.