The EU is well aware that Russia is not the most trustworthy partner in terms of regular energy supplies. Moscow wants to take advantage of any commercial energy project using it as political leverage. It means that Europe urgently needs to seek alternative solutions.
The EU authorities are actively exploring new channels of gas supplies, making contracts with exporters other than Russia. Moreover, Europe is going through the green transition, pushing ahead with projects focused on renewable energy sources. "We need to phase out our reliance on fossil fuels. And that includes gas. The faster we get to renewables, the less exposed we are to price spikes coming from imported fossil fuels," Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Margrethe Vestager commented on the current energy policy of Brussels. She added that energy prices soared to historic highs whereas the EU imports the lion’s share of natural gas.
On December 21, 2021, Dutch TTF gas futures, the benchmark for European prices, surpassed $2,000 per 1,000 m3 for contracts with delivery in January 2022. Gas futures logged a record intraday rise on that date, having leapt by 27% to $2,150. In December, Russian state-owned Gazprom halted its gas supplies across Poland and Belarus to Germany via the Yamal-Europe pipeline. The decision sent gas prices to historic highs. Now gas is flowing in the opposite direction eastwards back to Russia.
