“Nord Stream is stopped (…) which means that the gas no longer circulates”, confirmed on Monday, the German Ministry of the Economy. This stop for ten days, announced for a long time, should only be a technical formality but nothing is certain.
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Will Europe find gas from Russia? The supply is cut: the Russian giant Gazprom began, on Monday July 11, maintenance work on the two Nord Stream 1 gas pipelines. These transport a large quantity of its gas still delivered to Germany as well as to several other countries from Western Europe. “Nord Stream is stopped (…) which means that the gas no longer circulates”confirmed the German Ministry of Economics.
This stoppage for ten days of the two pipes, announced for a long time, was in theory only to be a technical formality. But with the war in Ukraine and the showdown between Moscow and the West over energy, nothing is certain. “There are many scenarios in which we could be thrust into an emergency situation”warned the president of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, on ZDF television on Monday. “Putin is going to close the gas tap for us… but will he ever open it again?”worried Picture, Germany’s most widely read daily on Sunday.
“You have to put yourself in the worst-case scenario because it exists”
“We are facing an unprecedented situation, everything is possible”recognized over the weekend the German vice-chancellor, Robert Habeck, on public radio. “It is possible that the gas will flow again, even in greater quantities than before. It is possible that nothing more will come and we must prepare as always for the worst”he added.
“We have to put ourselves in the worst-case scenario because it exists. At any time, Russia can completely interrupt its gas deliveries”, warned Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the Minister of Energy Transition, on Sunday. We must “prepare for a cut in Russian gas (…) Today is the most likely option”, estimated the day before, Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of the Economy.