Brussels is examining how to shield consumers from a potential energy crisis as part of plans to protect Europe’s households, businesses and borders from the fallout from a Russian military escalation in Ukraine.
Diplomats have told the Financial Times that the EU is discussing contingency measures to deal with risks from surging gas prices, a possible migratory crisis and cyber security threats if Russia invades Ukraine.
The priority of the EU’s emergency planning is to cope with any reduction in gas flows from Russia, which as Europe’s largest supplier accounts for about 40 per cent of imports.
World leaders will on Monday meet on both sides of the Atlantic to seek a diplomatic solution to de-escalate the crisis with Russia. Emmanuel Macron will meet Vladimir Putin face-to-face in Moscow after three phone calls in the past 10 days. The president of France plans to tell his Russian counterpart that while the security of Ukraine cannot be compromised, he understands that Moscow has concerns of its own.
At the same time, Olaf Scholz has flown to Washington to meet Joe Biden for the first time since becoming Germany’s chancellor in December. He intends to present a united front with the US president following accusations that Berlin had become a weak link in the west’s resistance against Russia’s build-up of more than 100,000 troops on Ukraine’s border.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told the Financial Times in an interview on Friday that the EU needed to be prepared for “any scenario” with Russia and Ukraine — part of which was to do everything it could to find alternative energy sources.
“You would never trust a gas supplier that is not reliable,” she said. “This scenario would be very difficult for the EU, but the same goes for Russia with its one-dimensional economy. In such a situation we would also do everything to alleviate the pressure on households and consumers.”