Germany escalates to ‘alert level’ over security of gas supply

(EurActiv, 23 Jun 2022) The German government has escalated its warning over gas supplies to the “alert level” in accordance with the EU’s security of supply regulation following reduced gas flows from Russia.

Germany is the largest net importer of Russian fossil gas in Europe. The state-owned gas company Gazprom reduced gas flows through Nord Stream 1 and TurkStream, citing mainly technical issues.

“We are in a gas crisis. Gas is a scarce commodity from now on. Prices are already high, and we have to be prepared for further increases,” said Robert Habeck, Germany’s vice-chancellor, on Thursday.

“Even if gas volumes can still be procured on the market and are still being stored: The situation is serious, and winter is coming,” he added.

Germany is the first EU country to escalate the warnings to “alert level,” although a similar measure has reportedly been considered in Italy. Germany and Italy are by far the biggest buyers of Russian gas.

After Gazprom had reduced flows through Nord Stream 1 to 40%, citing “trumped-up” maintenance issues linked to sanctions and calculating scenarios in the future, the German government was forced to escalate the warning level.

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EurActiv, 23 Jun 2022: Germany escalates to ‘alert level’ over security of gas supply