BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 13. European Union (EU) Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson urged Slovakia, Austria, and Italy to prepare to halt imports of Russian pipeline gas from January as hopes of extending the transit agreement with Ukraine are melting away, TurkicWorld reports.
The three countries have had more than two years to choose more predictable alternative routes after Gazprom cut gas supplies to other EU countries in 2022," Simson said during a discussion on the EU Energy Union.
She acknowledged that cutting off supplies would also mean that Ukraine would lose Russian transit revenues used to maintain its transmission network, "which is part of the European gas infrastructure.
"We must make sure that Ukraine's gas infrastructure has value if Russian gas transit across it is cut off," the European commissioner said.
According to her, Ukraine's extensive underground storage facilities could provide the EU with additional capacity to ensure gas supplies during high-demand periods.
The share of Russian gas in the EU's energy mix is currently 15 percent.
The pipeline through Ukraine (via the Sudzha hub) carries 14–15 bcm per year, and the agreement on such transit expires on December 31, 2024.
