The European Commission Thursday released a Stress Test Report on the resilience of the European gas system.
The report says that more gas will continue to be delivered to homes and companies, if EU Member States cooperate and allow the market forces to work as long as possible. Government intervention should be carefully prepared on a regional basis and only kick in, if needed. The report includes concrete short-term recommendations for the most vulnerable EU Member States and neighbouring countries.
EU Commissioner for energy, Gunther Oettinger told a news conference that "this report shows that we are not waiting but do everything we can do to be prepared. For the very first time, we have a complete picture of the risks and possible solutions." " If we work together, show solidarity and implement the recommendations of this report, no household in the EU has to be left out in the cold this winter," he said.
The Russian-Ukrainian gas dispute puts the gas supplies to the EU once more at risk, as in 2009. With the winter approaching, the Commission wanted to have a clear picture of where the biggest shortfalls would arise and how they could be mitigated.
It analyses different scenarios, in particular a complete halt of Russian gas imports into the EU for a period of six months.
Today, the EU imports 53% of the energy it consumes. Energy dependence relates to crude oil (almost 90%), to natural gas (66%), and to a lesser extent to solid fuels (42%) as well as nuclear fuel (40%). Around half of the EU's primary energy consumption (48%) is used for space and water heating.