Pushkov: the EU’s course to reduce fuel imports from Russia is waiting for tests

MOSCOW, Sep 23 — PRIME. The autumn-winter period will be a serious test for the course of Western countries to reduce imports of Russian energy resources, Senator Alexei Pushkov said on his Telegram channel.

He recalled the five steps that the EU is planning in this direction. This is the advance filling of gas storages, an agreement to reduce the consumption of Russian gas throughout the winter. The Europeans also plan to develop and introduce special taxes on energy companies that receive windfall due to high oil and gas prices, in order to ease the tax burden of ordinary consumers, as well as entrepreneurs who are suffering from a sharp increase in fuel prices.

In addition, the EU intends to reduce the purchase of Russian pipeline oil by 92% by the end of the year and introduce a “ceiling” on the price of Russian oil on world markets.

“The EU leadership calls the combination of these measures “full mobilization in the face of the energy crisis.” However, it is known that there is a significant gap between even the toughest plans and their actual implementation, which can undermine or even nullify – partially or completely – the undertaken mobilization There are also factors that cannot be taken into account, from the level of cold weather in the coming winter to the complete uncertainty about whether “price ceilings” will operate in the face of high demand for oil on world markets,” Pushkov stressed.

He noted that the reaction of the population of European countries to life in the conditions of growing shortage of energy resources and the psychological tension that accompanies it cannot be fully predicted.

“Due to these factors, it is impossible to fully assess the degree of readiness of Western countries for the inevitable aggravation of the energy crisis in the coming months. One can be sure that Western liberal elites will do everything to maintain and even tighten the chosen course, up to the imposition of new sanctions against Russia” , said the senator.

How far they will be allowed to follow this path by the development of events and the state of the expected pre-collapse in the energy sector, primarily in countries dependent on Russian energy carriers, remains an open question, he added.

Pushkov noted that with the external unity of the EU on this issue, the palette of approaches of the member countries of the association is very diverse: “from the continuation of 100% support for Ukraine to an unadvertised, but growing feeling that Europeans should not freeze and close their enterprises for the sake of Donbass.”