The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, assured this Saturday that the European Union “will accelerate its path towards energy independence”, saying that he was not surprised by the suspension of the flow of gas from Russia.
Charles Michel’s remarks come after the Russian state company Gazprom announced on Friday that it had completely suspended the flow of gas through the Nord Stream pipeline, due to an oil leak detected during maintenance of the only compressor station that is still running.
Gazprom was initially scheduled to resume the flow of gas this morning, but it did not.
For Charles Michel, this act “is not a surprise”: “The use of gas as a weapon will not change the determination of the EU. We will accelerate our path towards energy independence,” he wrote on his Twitter profile quoted by the news. EFF agency.
For the official, the duty of the EU is “to protect its citizens and support the freedom of Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, the Italian head of state, Sergio Mattarella, has already come today to ask for an urgent response from Europe, arguing that, as happened during the Covid-19 pandemic, the European Union must also unite to solve the energy problem.
“A European response to the problems is urgently needed: individual countries cannot respond effectively to the crisis,” Mattarella defended.
Gazprom, which controls the Nord Stream gas pipeline, which connects Russia with Germany under the Baltic Sea, has complied with the announcement to cut gas transit through the Nord Stream due to an oil leak detected in a turbine during maintenance work on a compressor unit, the only one still in operation.
The Russian gas company had promised, before closing the pipeline for three days, that these tasks would resume supply to Europe this morning at 04:00 (01:00 GMT) at previous levels, that is, at 20% of its capacity. or 33 million cubic. meters per day, something he did not do, alleging that the oil leak does not guarantee a safe operation.
On Friday, the European Commission accused Moscow of “cynicism” and using “false pretexts” to justify the complete suspension of gas flow through the pipeline.
Source: TSF
