By Andrea Thomas
BRSSEL/BERLIN (Dow Jones) — The European Union (EU) will intensify its cooperation to strengthen energy security and is preparing for further possible cuts in Russian gas supplies, as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in Brussels. He does not want to speculate about the impact of the upcoming maintenance work on the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline in July. In the past few weeks, Russia has already reduced deliveries to 40 percent of the maximum delivery capacities, citing technical reasons for this.
“None of us believes that the technical reasons given by Russian suppliers for the reduction in gas supplies are correct. And that’s why everyone is preparing to do what is necessary in good time,” said Scholz, referring to his EU Colleagues in a press conference at the end of the EU summit in Brussels. “We did that for Germany a long time ago.” The EU countries wanted to intensify their cooperation on energy security. “We will soon receive reports that will enable us to think about how we can bundle our joint activities so that we can now make ourselves independent of fossil imports from Russia with better prospects,” says Scholz. At the same time, it is about driving forward the expansion of renewable energies.
Skepticism about US proposal for price cap for Russian oil
Before the meeting of the group of seven leading economic nations (G7) in Elmau, Bavaria, which begins on Sunday, Scholz expressed skepticism about a possible price cap for Russian oil. This had been proposed by the USA because of the high oil prices. According to Scholz, international agreement is needed for such a price restriction to work. In addition, Europe is planning an embargo on Russian oil imports. With regard to the Western sanctions against Russia, Scholz said that the EU had discussed tightening where the current measures were not precise enough in their effects.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 24, 2022 10:24 ET (14:24 GMT)