“This is his cynical game. Insert and for us it is a test of unity and solidarity,” said the Chairman of the Commission. Ursula von der Leyennoting that “Europeans have the financial strength, creativity and team spirit to win this test of endurance and prevail.”

The President of the European Commission accused the President of Russia of “manipulating our energy markets and using natural gas supplies as a weapon.” “The last mask fell on his latest excuse to cut off supplies via Nordstream1. Our policy of diversifying away from Russian fossil fuels is bearing fruit. Norway, for example, supplies more gas to the EU. so far than Russia. In addition, Europeans store large amounts of natural gas. The storage tiers are filling up faster than planned. We are ready,” he added in an interview with a media group in Brussels, including APE-MPE and ERT.

“We will focus on reducing electricity during peak hours”

“We need to save energy wisely. We will focus on reducing electricity consumption during peak hours. Therefore, we will work with Member States to redirect as much electricity consumption as possible to periods of low demand. For example, some automated production processes may be rescheduled for weekends or overnight,” emphasized Ms von der Leyen.

The commission chairman noted that “we are in a paradoxical situation: energy companies have unexpectedly high incomes, completely unrelated to their costs or investments. And consumers face astronomical bills. Our emergency measures are aimed at restoring social balance. In the meantime, we will propose channeling windfalls never dreamed of by energy companies to vulnerable households and businesses. This ensures that the world can benefit faster and more clearly from our massive investment in renewable energy. Renewable energy sources are cheaper, cleaner and household. At the same time, we expect the energy sector to accelerate the transition to a green economy by investing in renewable sources and promoting energy savings.”

He added that “Russian pipeline gas is now 9% below our EU gas imports. Last year it was 41%. Limiting the price of Russian pipeline gas is necessary to limit Putin’s income to finance his terrible war against Ukraine. It is practically impossible for Russia to find new consumers of pipeline gas in the short term.”

Finally, Ursula von der Leyen stated that “our energy companies are essential to keep the lights on, the houses to stay warm and the economy to work. Some face problems related to market volatility, which is manipulated by Putin. We will work closely with member countries to ensure their liquidity. We will be as flexible and agile as possible in providing temporary support to Member States for these critical companies.”

^{Source: RES-IPE}