The president of the European Commission defended this Wednesday the protection of the energy infrastructure of the European Union (EU), after the Russian sabotage of the Nordstream I and II gas pipelines, proposing stress tests and a better reaction to sudden ruptures.
“The acts of sabotage against the Nordstream pipelines [I e II] showed how vulnerable our energy infrastructures are, [já que]for the first time in recent history, they have become a target,” said Ursula von der Leyen.
In a debate in the plenary session of the European Parliament, in the French city of Strasbourg, the leader of the community executive alluded to the recent interruptions in the operation of the controversial Nordstream gas pipelines, which connect Russia and Germany, raising suspicions of sabotage in the Baltic Sea .
“Oil pipelines and submarine cables connect European citizens and businesses with the world and are oil and gas pipelines for data and energy, [sendo] in the interest of all Europeans to better protect this critical infrastructure”, stressed Ursula von der Leyen.
To ensure such a safeguard, the official announced a new “five-point plan”, which immediately entails having recently proposed legislation to strengthen the resilience of the EU’s critical infrastructures, as well as working with member states “to ensure a stress cash”. tests in the energy sector”, in order to “identify its weak points and prepare the reaction to sudden ruptures” in case of disturbance of the fuel, generators or storage structures, he listed.
In addition, “we will increase our response capacity through our EU Civil Protection Mechanism”, we will also “make the best use of our satellite surveillance capacity to detect potential threats” and even “reinforce cooperation with NATO and partners like the United States on these critical issues,” said Ursula von der Leyen.
This position will be transmitted by the leader of the community executive to the heads of government and state of the EU, who will meet at an informal summit in Prague at the end of this week, on the occasion of the Czech presidency of the Council, in a letter with a roadmap that also includes possible measures to deal with the energy crisis such as maximum gas prices for electricity production.
“The Kremlin [regime russo] he escalated his aggression to a new level. [O Presidente russo] Putin launched Russia’s first mobilization since World War II, treating hundreds of thousands of young Russians as cannon fodder, using fraudulent referendums in an illegal attempt to alter international borders by force, and, for many months, using the energy as a weapon”, he condemned. Ursula von der Leyen.
Acknowledging the “economic and social difficulties” caused by the war in Ukraine in the EU, the leader of the Community Executive has pointed out that “the increase in energy costs, in particular, is causing a reduction in the purchasing power of citizens and the loss of competitiveness of companies”, being necessary “to act in unity and act in solidarity”.
Days later, criticism arose in the EU of Germany’s new ‘bazooka’, a package of 200,000 million euros in aid to German families and companies to deal with high energy prices, for being a unilateral support that puts at risk disadvantage to the rest of the countries (with more vulnerable economies), Ursula von der Leyen defended “the fundamentals of the European economy, in particular the Single Market”.
“This is the strength of the European Union and this is where the wealth of the European Union comes from and without a common European solution we risk fragmentation. It is therefore essential that we maintain a level playing field for everyone in the EU. “. “, she stressed.
Source: TSF
