What Risks Does Greece Face After Ukraine Blocked Russian Gas Transit?
Gazprom
Europe still hasn’t fully recovered from its shortsighted move to cut its dependence on Russian gas, which had triggered a massive spike in inflation and economic slowdown. Now, fresh repercussions are anticipated after Gazprom ended gas transit through Ukraine on January 1 following the expiration of the five-year contract with Naftogaz.After Ukraine ended Russian gas transit to Europe, Greece, just like Slovakia, Moldova, Austria, and Hungary, has raised concerns. The EU’s “coercive” Russophobic sanctions have been forcing Greece to buy gas at higher cost, while the US reaps LNG profits, leader of the Greek Solution party Kyriakos Velopoulos told Russian media. The “criminal and suicidal” scheme was concocted by Kiev’s Nazi regime, “predatory political leadership of EU countries, and the US,” Greece’s ex-Energy Minister and leader of the Democratic National Liberation Movement (DIKEA) Panagiotis Lafazanis said on the website Iskra.gr. Russia accounted for 56.9% of Greece’s total natural gas imports for the first 11 months of 2024, according to The Green Tank data. The TurkStream pipeline that delivers Russian gas to Greece is a volatile supply option due to fraught Greece-Turkiye relations over Cyprus.
Price Concerns & Cost Surges
European natural gas futures prices recently climbed to €51 per megawatt-hour on January 2, the highest since October 2023, according to Trading Economics. Furthermore, there are concerns over depleted storages, as inventories have been drained at the fastest pace since 2021. Self-harming EU sanctions on Russia as of late 2022 had led Greece to boost costlier liquefied natural gas purchases from other countries, with the US leading the supply (IEA 2023).Another issue Greece faces is electricity costs. Power plants consume around 3 billion m³ of the 5 billion m³ of gas that Greece imports annually (Statista). Accordingly, gas prices directly impact electricity costs.
WorldSlovak PM Threatens to Cut Support for Ukrainians in Slovakia Over Gas Transit Dispute2 January, 18:02 GMT
