EU response to energy crisis looms amid rising oil, gas prices

Energy prices began soaring last year after the lifting of pandemic lockdowns, followed by Russia’s war in Ukraine this year.
Brussels, Belgium – All eyes are on Brussels this week as European Union leaders convene in Belgium’s capital to find a joint solution to tackle the energy crisis, which has been gnawing at the bloc for more than a year.
Energy prices – determined by the price of crude oil, natural gas and coal – began soaring last year as a result of COVID lockdowns being lifted, followed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine this year. “Russia’s war on Ukraine has severe consequences on global and European energy markets,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a press conference in the French city of Strasbourg on Tuesday.
Before the war, 40 percent of the gas used in the EU was supplied by Russia. But in July, due to Moscow’s aggression in Ukraine, the bloc agreed to cut Russian gas usage by 15 percent, in an effort to wean off its dependency.
In retaliation, the Kremlin cut gas supplies to the EU with Russian gas giant Gazprom announcing that the Nord Stream 1 (NS1) pipeline, which delivers gas to EU countries like Germany, would be shut for maintenance work indefinitely.
Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Brussels, ….Source: caljazeera.com