About: gas crisis

The energy crisis shows fossil gas is not dependable

The energy crisis will be painful for many Europeans and emergency measures are needed to ensure gas keeps flowing to keep people warm for the next few months. But the EU must also recognise that this is good money thrown after bad, writes Jonathan Gant.

31 December 2019: Will gas stop flowing?

The clock is ticking. The long-term gas transit contract between Russia and Ukraine is expiring on 31 December. Chances that the two sides would reach a comprehensive agreement before this date are slim. EURACTIV looks behind the scenes of the dispute.

Russia’s EU ambassador: The fall of the Berlin Wall was ‘a victory of common sense’

In a wide-ranging interview, Russia’s Ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov spoke about gas transit talks with Ukraine, NATO and EU enlargement, nuclear arms control, Russia’s sales of the S-400 anti-aircraft system, the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and Brexit.

Gas market liberalisation: An unsung EU success story?

The liberalisation of European gas markets is widely recognised as a major success by industry analysts. But EU politicians are reluctant to celebrate it because liberalisation on its own has failed to deliver on another key objective – supply diversification. Ironically, Europe is now more dependent on Russian gas than ever.

Russia’s EU ambassador: ‘Donbass is part of Ukraine’

In a wide-ranging interview on Monday (5 March), Russia’s ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov discussed Syria and eastern Ukraine, the current tensions between Gazprom and Naftogaz, as well as the Italian election.

Snow-hit Ukraine faces gas squeeze as Gazprom holds back supplies

New tensions between Moscow and Kyiv flared yesterday (1 March) after Russia's Gazprom said it will not restart gas supplies to Ukraine and Naftogaz accused its counterpart of violating contractual agreements.

Naftogaz official: The EU should not worry about another gas crisis

An official with Ukraine's Naftogaz told EURACTIV.com today (6 January) that EU countries need not fear a disruption of gas supplies, despite Russian warnings that a harsh winter may trigger a crisis similar to those of 2006 and 2009.

Erdogan to meet Putin for a ‘new beginning’

Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet on Tuesday (9 August) his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin aiming to open "a new page" in bilateral relations and reverse the damage sustained by sanctions imposed by Russia.

EU, Russia, Ukraine agree winter gas supply deal

Russia agreed to resume gas supplies to Ukraine over the winter under a deal clinched late Friday (25 September) with the European Union, capping months of difficult talks overshadowed by the Ukrainian conflict.

Commission hopes for new trilateral gas talks on Ukraine

The European Commission deplored the collapse of the trilateral gas talks today (20 August), in which it was negotiating Ukrainian gas purchases from Russia, and expressed hopes that a new round could take place in September.

Former Czech PM promotes Eastring gas pipeline

EXCLUSIVE / Mirek Topolánek, former Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, and President of the Council of the EU during the Czech Presidency in 2009, is now in charge of the promotion of the Eastring gas pipeline project, designed to link Central with Southeastern Europe. On a visit to Brussels, he explained the project to EURACTIV.

Commission sheds light on trilateral gas talks with Ukraine, Russia

The European Commission aims at concluding an agreement to supply Ukraine with Russian gas until Fall 2016, when an international court will issue a ruling on Moscow's pricing regime, a Commission official said.

Study: Only Bulgaria would be hurt by a new Ukraine gas crisis

A new study has found that following the 2009 Ukrainian gas crisis, Europe is better prepared to deal with a such disruption than before. Only Bulgaria would be incapable of substituting imports during a short supply interruption.

Brussels talks avert another Ukraine gas crisis

Russia and Ukraine have agreed to discuss a "summer package" of gas supplies late this month, with Kyiv winning an assurance at Monday's EU-mediated talks in Brussels that it would not pay for energy delivered to rebel-held areas.

Šef?ovi? mediating between Russia and Ukraine in order to avert new gas crisis

Commission Vice-President Maroš Šef?ovi? said today (25 February) that he is attempting to mediate between Ukraine and Russia, in order to avoid a new gas crisis.

Gazprom warns of ‘serious risks’ for gas transit to Europe

Gazprom said Tuesday (24 February) that there were "serious" risks to gas transit to Europe via Ukraine after Kyiv failed to make a pre-payment.

Ukraine should prioritise energy efficiency

Improving energy efficiency and reducing energy consumption should be the key priority of Ukraine's energy policy. The country’s energy-saving potential could be as much as 50% of its current energy consumption, writes Danila Bochkarev.

Bulgarian coal plant faces closure over failure to operate according to EU standards

Czech power utility ?EZ said it would temporarily halt operations of its coal-burning plant in Bulgaria as of next year, after it failed to agree on a plan to bring it up to EU environmental rules.

‘Stress test’ measures EU’s ability to survive without Russian gas

Ahead of the 23-24 October EU summit, on Thursday (16 October), the Commission presented a first-ever analysis of the consequences of a disruption of Russian gas supplies, or even a complete halt of such imports to the Union, and neighbouring states. The result, which was not difficult to predict, is that some countries would be much more affected than others.

Yatsenyuk: Russia plans to cut gas to Europe this winter

Europe faces the increasing threat of a disruption to gas supplies from its main provider Russia this winter due to the crisis in Ukraine, through which almost half of supplies flow.

Why Russia and China are united by more than pipeline politics

The recent multi-billion euro deal to pipe gas from Russia to China signals shifting geopolitical and climate hedge bets more than it does a new anti-Western alliance, argues Shaun Breslin

Bulgaria warns of new gas crisis

Bulgarian Economy and Energy Minister Dragomir Stoynev warned yesterday (6 November) of a possible repeat of the 2009 gas crisis as a result of the intensified conflict between Russia and Ukraine.