Bloomberg reported an increase in the share of gas imports from Russia to Europe
The share of gas imports from Russia to European countries has increased again, the country remains one of the largest gas suppliers to Europe. This was reported by Bloomberg on December 17.
"Russia remains one of the most important energy suppliers on the continent, and the European Union's goal of ending dependence on Russian fossil fuels by 2027 seems difficult to achieve," the publication said.
The publication noted that at the moment Europeans are paying more for energy, and some of the most energy-intensive industries are struggling to remain competitive. Thus, expensive energy remains one of the reasons why companies such as Volkswagen AG and BASF SE are struggling.
"Russia's European customers were often bound by tough long-term contracts that were not easy to give up. The transition could be costly as available supplies in the global gas market are expected to remain tight for at least another year until a new wave of supplies from exporting countries such as the U.S. and Qatar emerges," the agency added.
Earlier in the day, the Bloomberg agency, citing a statement by Slovak gas company SPP, reported that key companies in Central Europe signed a declaration in support of the continuation of gas transit through Ukraine in 2025. It was noted that in Slovakia itself, stopping supplies would cost more than €220 million ($231 million) to purchase and transit gas from another source, while in Ukraine "will lead to irreversible damage to the Ukrainian gas infrastructure."
Prior to that, on December 13, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fitzo said that the country was in talks to continue gas supplies through Ukrainian territory. At the same time, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said on 16 December that Kiev was not going to prolong the gas transit agreement. In its turn, against the backdrop of the situation in Moldova, a state of emergency has been imposed since December 16 due to the threat of a humanitarian crisis.
On 6 November, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak pointed out that European countries were interested in the continuation of gas transit from Russia through Ukraine, and the Russian side was ready to supply energy resources. At the same time, due to Ukraine's unreliability in this sphere, a number of states found themselves in a difficult situation, he noted.
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