EU preparing for sudden cessation of Russian gas supplies – European Commissioner

The European Union says it is preparing for a possible sudden cessation of Russian gas supplies after the transit contract between Ukraine and the Russian Federation expires at the end of 2024.

Kadri Simson, the European Commissioner for Energy, gave a reminder that the gas transit contract between Russia and Ukraine will soon expire, so the EU wants to coordinate its actions on this with Ukraine. 

She noted that the EU has been preparing for this situation for two years. 

"We knew that Russia was not a reliable gas supplier, and all our risk assessments were designed around the fact that Europe could be left without Russian gas supplies in an instant," Simson said at a briefing in Kyiv. 

EU countries were recommended to reduce their gas consumption in 2022 in response to the energy crisis caused by Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.

The relevant regulation was subsequently extended for a year in 2023. 

Thanks to demand reduction measures, the EU was able to phase out approximately 65 billion cubic metres of Russian gas in 2023, primarily in households and industry.

At the end of March this year, the EU officially recommended cutting gas consumption by a further 15%.