The price of gas crosses the 50 euro megawatt-hour mark
The consequences of this shutdown were directly felt on the price of European gas, which crossed the symbolic bar of 50 euros per megawatt hour on Tuesday afternoon, a first in more than a year. The cold winter and an increased dependence on liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is significantly more expensive, are also factors in this price increase which could affect the bills of millions of Europeans.
In recent weeks, Hungary and Slovakia have complained about seeing the tap cut off on December 31, with no real credible immediate alternatives. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who remains close to Vladimir Putin and whose country is very dependent on Russian gas supplies, went to Moscow on December 22 to try to find a solution. This surprise trip angered Volodymyr Zelensky, who accused Robert Fico of wanting to “help Putin”. In addition, the Russian giant Gazprom announced on Saturday that it would stop delivering gas to Moldova from 1is January, in the context of a financial dispute with this former Soviet republic which has just re-elected a pro-European president.
European countries still dependent on Russian gas
The contract allowing the supply of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine, signed between kyiv and Moscow in 2019, had until then remained in force despite the war, financially benefiting both camps. kyiv’s decision not to renew it was deplored by the Kremlin, also bringing its share of uncertainties for European countries, historically importers of Russian gas despite their efforts to free themselves from it since 2022.
With the end of transit via Ukraine and more than two years after the sabotage of the Nord Stream tubes in the Baltic Sea, Europe will now only be supplied with Russian gas by the TurkStream gas pipeline, and its Balkan Stream extension. It also imports Russian LNG by LNG tankers. The transit of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine represented 14.65 billion cubic meters in 2023, according to official figures. Hungary receives most of its Russian gas imports via TurkStream and the end of transit via Ukraine will only marginally affect it.
Moldova turns off the lights
Moldova has already started to turn off its lights, Slovakia is threatening Ukraine with reprisals: kyiv’s announcement of the end of the transit of Russian gas on its territory is sowing trouble in Eastern Europe.
It is in Moldova that the situation is most critical: this former Soviet republic declared a state of emergency after the failure of negotiations with Gazprom, which cited a financial dispute and refused to consider other routes to this stage. In the capital Chisinau, where most of the Christmas lights will be turned off, residents confide their “fear”. “It’s terrible, no one knows what will happen. I bought candles and a generator,” said Cristina, a 21-year-old student who declined to give her last name.
The Russian group has already stopped a large part of its deliveries after the start of the war in Ukraine and until now only supplied the pro-Russian separatist region of Transdnistria. But its thermal power plant still provides 70% of the electricity consumed by the entire country, one of the poorest in Europe. “The Kremlin is once again resorting to energy blackmail in order to influence the 2025 legislative elections and weaken our European trajectory,” reacted President Maia Sandu, re-elected in November after a vote clouded by accusations of Russian interference . To the inhabitants of Transdnistria, who will find themselves without heating in the middle of winter, she offered “humanitarian aid” but the local authorities refused, hoping for a rapid resolution of the conflict.
The Moldovan government has announced drastic measures to reduce electricity consumption, in particular by limiting lighting in public buildings and the use of elevators, and intends to buy the missing electricity from neighboring Romania.
Slovakia cries scandal
The European Union appears calm, while the approximately 14 billion m³ transiting annually via Ukraine represent only 5% of its total gas imports. “The flow must be stopped at 1is January and the EU is prepared for it,” the Commission said on Tuesday. She invokes European infrastructure capable of transporting non-Russian gas “by other routes”. In a report published in mid-December, Brussels judged the impact to be “limited”.
