EU prepared if Russia ceases gas supply

Paolo Gentiloni, the commissioner for the economy of the European Union, stated on Saturday that because of storage capacity and energy-saving measures, the European Union would be "well prepared" in the event that Russian gas deliveries were completely stopped.

On the sidelines of an economic seminar hosted by The European House - Ambrosetti, told reporters, "We are well prepared to fight Russia's severe deployment of the gas weapon."

“We are not afraid of Putin’s decisions, we are asking the Russians to respect contracts, but if they don’t, we are ready to react,” he said.

The Nord Stream pipeline connecting Russia to northern Germany was scheduled to resume service on Saturday following a three-day maintenance break, but Russian gas company Gazprom announced on Friday that it would be "totally" shut until a turbine is fixed.

Moscow reacted to the G7 nations' decision to target Russia's energy bonanza by agreeing to cap the price of its oil, which was made public on Friday.

It "would be time," according to the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to cap the cost of gas imported from Russia through pipelines, supporting a proposal made by the prime minister of Italy, Mario Draghi.

In the European Union, “gas storage is currently at about 80 per cent, thanks to the diversification of supplies,” even if the situation varies from one country to another, Gentiloni said.

Despite the fact that Brussels had "done a lot in recent months," he claimed, "more can be done today."

He stated that the objective is to "pursue a united European strategy that works against the invasion of Ukraine using economic weapons."

“We are not participating in the war, we are not participating in the military escalation,” he said.

“We are supporting Ukraine. We have to do it now more effectively.”

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