Vladimir Putin’s attempt to blackmail Europe with energy resources has failed, but next year will still be a challenge, said the European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson, quoted by Sky News.

Speaking at a meeting of European Mediterranean energy ministers in Malta, Simson said the Mediterranean region has a key role to play in helping the EU operate effectively in an extraordinary year with the energy crisis and challenges caused by the Russian invasion.

The EU launched the REPowerEU plan in May 2022 in response to market destabilization caused by the Russian invasion, with the aim of achieving energy savings, increasing clean energy production and diversifying energy supplies.

“One year from now, we can say that Putin’s attempt to blackmail Europe with energy has failed, and more importantly, we have invested heavily in renewables in the long term,” Simson said.

Why Russia will not be lucky this winter

The price of natural gas in Europe continued to fall, hitting a new near two-year low on Thursday, as comfortable European storage levels and rising temperatures dampened demand, AFP reported.

“Global warming is reducing demand for heating gas,” Seb analyst Bjarne Schildrop said in a note.

Storage levels in Europe are even “close to record levels for this time of year,” Schildrop said.

Therefore, Europe is on the way to replenishing its reserves until next winter. Russia once again declared that the West will have a harder winter and will freeze.

Russia’s GDP has shrunk due to Western sanctions

According to Rosstat’s preliminary estimate, Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 1.9% in the first quarter of 2023.

The first quarter was marked by the introduction of a European embargo on Russian petroleum products, to which was added another embargo – on crude oil – and a cap on its price at $60 per barrel, which drowned Moscow’s oil revenues, vital to its finances.

Numerous international sanctions have had a significant impact on Russian finances: in March, despite the fact that oil exports reached the highest level since April 2020, Moscow’s oil revenues reached only $12.7 billion, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), which represents a significant decrease in 43% compared to last year.