The political scientist stated the threat of deindustrialization of the EU due to the abandonment of Russian gas

Europe's rejection of Russian gas may lead to the deindustrialization of the region. Yevgeny Zlenko, a political scientist and project manager at the Polylogue Group, told Izvestia on October 9.

"In the long term, this is the path to deindustrialization, although the European Union is making some weak attempts to restart its economy through the military—industrial complex," the expert said.

He explained that Central and Eastern Europe grew their economies on cheap energy resources. Without Russian gas, European industry will lose competitiveness, and the population will lose the last remnants of purchasing power.

According to Zlenko, the actions of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban indicate an attempt to avoid confrontation with Brussels before the parliamentary elections in 2026.

"Orban seems to have simply decided to avoid direct confrontation with Brussels on this issue, which is called "not running into pressure again" before the parliamentary elections in 2026. Most likely, he understands that he will still end up looking for workarounds and ways to supply Russian energy through third countries," the political scientist noted.

In addition, he added that the situation is also of concern to neighboring countries. For Slovakia and Austria, the circumstances are similar: without Russian gas, whether piped or liquefied natural gas (LNG), the energy system becomes dependent on the American market. Zlenko noted that they will have to compete with Asian states for each tanker.

National perspective: Russia remains the leader in Europe in terms of economy size

What measures of state support contribute to maintaining such indicators?

The EUobserver portal reported on the same day that Hungary had agreed to a ban on Russian LNG supplies to the EU. According to him, the positions of Slovakia and Austria remain the sticking point for the adoption of the 19th package of sanctions.

On October 8, Reuters reported that the EU ambassadors agreed to continue implementing a plan to stop importing Russian oil and gas by 2028. Almost all EU countries are said to have supported the project, despite criticism from Hungary and Slovakia.

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