European Commission (EC) spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen has said that the EU member states are ready for the cessation of Russian gas supplies via Ukraine, despite concerns from Slovakia in particular.
‘The cessation of supplies from 1 January was an expected situation, the EU has prepared <…> The consequences… will have a limited impact on the security of EU supply,’ the EC spokeswoman told RIA Novosti.
Mrs Itkonen noted that the EU had been working for more than a year to prepare for such a scenario and was preparing alternative supply routes for interested states. The EC representative noted that the European gas infrastructure is flexible enough to deliver gas not from Russia to Central and Eastern Europe. From 2022, Ms Itkonen continued, this infrastructure has been strengthened with new LNG import capacity, which, she said, will help improve security of supply.
The gas transit agreement through Ukraine expires on 31 December. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that it would not be possible to extend the transit agreement until the end of the year. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal confirmed Kiev’s refusal to stop supplies. In the event of the cessation of supplies, the Balkan Stream pipeline will remain the only source of Russian gas to Europe.
