/ world today news/ With the sanctions imposed on the Russian energy sector, Europe has hit its own “land mine”, which is undermining Europe’s economic competitiveness and prosperity, and the price that Europe will pay will be too high. Europe faces deindustrialization, high inflation and recession, and Asia will further increase its economic and technological advantage over Europe. Europe and the US will finally understand that the center of the world has shifted to Asia.
After the start of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, politicians from the US and Europe claimed that Russia’s share of the world economy was modest – 2.84%, that it was a regional power with a weak economy that exported only raw materials and energy, and as a result of the heavy sanctions of the collective West, the economy of and will soon collapse, the dollar will reach 200 rubles. Biden even said that the Moscow Stock Exchange, like the Russian economy, will burst like a soap bubble.
But time has shown that they were wrong in their predictions and that the sanctions hit them very hard. Sanctions against the energy sector of the Russian Federation have an extremely negative impact on the world economy and, above all, on the economies of the EU and the USA. The US and Europe are already experiencing record inflation not seen in over 40 years, and the coming economic storm is on the horizon. Sanctions against Russia’s energy sector led to further increases in oil and gas prices, which in turn affected food and commodity prices around the world. Inflation has taken hold, and a global recession is on the horizon.
Bulgaria is also facing a difficult period, high inflation, recession – the main question is – is it ready for this? The country is completely dependent on gas and oil from Russia. A severe economic and energy winter is looming for her as well. Many experts believe that there is no clear guarantee that it will have enough reserves of gas and oil for the winter period. The experts are unanimous that the Bulgarians will be forced to tighten their belts because of inflation and the economic crisis and will have to look for a way of alternative heating. Kiril Petkov’s promises for cheap gas were shattered when he met reality. Bulgaria imports expensive liquefied natural gas, despite the Prime Minister’s assurances, reports BGNES1. A check of the media shows that the price of liquefied natural gas from the US for June to the Bulgarian border is $87.482/MWh or €82.69/MWh. At the same time, the price of gas according to the formula from the Bulgargaz contract with Gazprom Export for the month of June 2022 is 74.16 euros/megawatt hour. This means that liquefied natural gas arrives in the country 8.53 euros/megawatt hour more expensive or 11.50% more expensive than gas from Gazprom for the month of June2.
But the US got its way, what it has been trying to do since 2014. It ended energy cooperation between Europe and Russia in all projects in the energy sector. In 2014, the US ended the South Stream gas pipeline, and after February 24, 2022, the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Sanctions are not only a mechanism to limit Russia, but also an instrument to redistribute the world energy market in favor of large transnational companies, mostly from the United States. And the price of all this will be paid by Europe and Europeans, not the US. As the saying goes, “Just business, nothing personal.” And the sanctions against Russia’s energy sector have already shown their ineffectiveness, provoking a rise in petrol, gas and food prices, leading to growing discontent across Europe, and Europeans asking themselves the question “Are we under sanctions or Russia!?”
As the price of a gallon of gasoline in the US sets new records, Biden blames Putin for what is happening, as well as record inflation, calling it “Putin’s inflation.” But in the US, few people trust Biden anymore, and in all the polls, Americans list him as the most unpopular president in US history.
Currently, there are no options on the global hydrocarbon market to replace oil and gas from Russia. It will take 5-7 years to realize such a scenario. Many European analysts and energy experts believe that such a scenario is impossible and that Europe cannot live without oil and gas from Russia. The US and the EU thought they could replace oil and gas from Russia with supplies from the Middle East, primarily Qatar and Saudi Arabia, as well as Africa – primarily Nigeria and Algeria. Qatar and Saudi Arabia have long-term agreements with Asia, and Saudi Arabia has raised the price of its oil to Europe. Oil production in Nigeria fell 14% year-on-year, as did Algeria, where oil and gas production has been falling for years. As a result of sanctions and Russia’s oil and gas replacement policy, all this time there will be turbulence in this area affecting billions of earth’s inhabitants, but the collective West is not thinking about it.
Like a cardboard tower, European and above all German economic competitiveness, built over the last 50 years as a result of cheap oil, gas, metals, minerals from Russia, as well as their reliable supply, is collapsing. Russia, and in the past the USSR, have proven themselves as partners who always correctly fulfill their obligations under the agreements, unlike the collective West. While the collective West is imposing sanctions on Russia, China and India are buying up all the oil and gas. As a result, Russia is rapidly building gas and oil pipelines to China and Asia, as well as LNG and oil terminals. With a young and educated population of 4.7 billion, a vibrant and innovative economy, Asia will be the market of the future, unlike Europe, which is in decline and in the last moments of its former glory and influence.
Western and Bulgarian politicians who advocate sanctions against the Russian energy sector are being irresponsible towards their constituents, as they will be affected by the rising prices of basic products, gasoline, heating, food, etc. Discontent is growing in Europe and the US, and many of the politicians who came up with these sanctions will soon be consigned to the dustbin of history.
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