EU draws up energy plan in case of Russian gas cutoff
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union Commissioners were putting the finishing touches early Wednesday to a drastic plan to make sure that any Russian cutoff of its natural gas supplies to the bloc will not fundamentally disrupt industries and send an additional chill through homes next winter.
The European Commission is set to present its proposals later Wednesday, so that EU member states can discuss them at an emergency meeting of energy ministers next Tuesday. For it to be approved, national capitals would have to consider yielding powers over energy policy to Brussels.
The last-minute discussion comes at a time when a blog post from the International Monetary Fund has warned about the power Russian President Vladimir Putin could wield by weaponizing energy exports and choking off the 27-nation bloc.
“The partial shutoff of gas deliveries is already affecting European growth, and a full shutdown could be substantially more severe,” the IMFBlog warned. It added that gross domestic product in member nations like Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic could shrink by up to 6%.
Italy, a country already facing serious economic problems, “would also face significant impacts.”
EU economic forecasts last week showed that Russia’s war in Ukraine is expected to wreak havoc with economic recovery for the foreseeable future, with lower annual growth and record-high inflation. The disruptions in Russian energy trade threaten to trigger a recession in the bloc just as it is recovering from a pandemic-induced slump
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the EU has approved bans on Russian coal and most oil to take effect later this year, but it did not include natural gas because the 27-nation bloc depends on gas to power factories, generate electricity and heat homes. Now, it fears that...
