The European Union’s sanctions regime against Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine “does not affect goods nor technologies which are linked to the transport of natural gas”, European Commission spokesperson Tim McPhie said on Tuesday 19 July.
He said the return of a Siemens turbine to Germany after maintenance in Canada removes “one of the excuses” for Moscow to reduce gas flows via the Nord Stream I pipeline.
On Wednesday the European Commission will present its strategy for saving gas in the run-up to winter, in a bid to prepare the EU for a possible total disruption of Russian gas supplies. According to a draft version of this strategy, the Commission recommends, among other things, reducing consumption and using other energy sources, including some that are more polluting (see EUROPE 12993/3).
As for diversifying gas supplies, Mr McPhie said that in the first 6 months of 2022, the EU imported 30 billion cubic metres of LNG from the US, compared to 22 billion cubic metres in 2021. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)