French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has warned that Europe should brace itself for “a total cut-off of Russian gas.”
Speaking at an economic conference in Aix-en-Provence, southern France, on Sunday, Le Maire described Russian gas deliveries being shut off entirely for Europe as “the most likely scenario today.”
The minister added that France must be careful in its energy consumption, build up gas stockpiles, reduce red tape slowing the development of renewable energies, and accelerate its program to build new nuclear reactors.
The remarks came after Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), told The Financial Times last month that the EU needs to be prepared for the fact that Russia may halt gas supplies completely by winter.
“Europe should be ready in case Russian gas is completely cut off. The nearer we are coming to winter, the more we understand Russia’s intentions. I believe the cuts are geared towards avoiding Europe filling storage, and increasing Russia's leverage in the winter months,” Birol argued.
According to the IEA, the EU imported 155 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia in 2021, which accounts for 45% of the bloc's imports, and 40% of its total consumption.
Russian natural gas exports to Europe have declined precipitously in recent months as EU members search for alternatives as Moscow remains under “severe” Westerns sanctions imposed over Russia’s ongoing special operation to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine.
The drop accelerated in mid-June after the Russian gas giant Gazprom indicated that it would be forced to reduce flows to Europe by up to 60 percent due to problems with the repair and maintenance of German-sourced turbines pumping gas through the Nord Stream 1 network.