Russia has turned off Nord Stream 1. Here's what it means for the EU.
First, Nord Stream 1 was shut down for maintenance. Now Russia says it's being halted due to Western sanctions.
For EU officials, Russia stopping its key gas pipeline to Europe is proof the Kremlin is weaponising energy supplies.
It also means the next several winters are likely to be difficult for governments to manage and for vulnerable households to financially survive.
"In my view, this crisis will probably last three to four years, even if the war (in Ukraine) ends very soon, and hopefully it will," Paul Deane, a research fellow at University College Cork, told Euronews.
Russia supplied 45% of the EU's total gas imports last year, amounting to about 155 billion cubic metres (bcm). More than a third of that — 59.2 bcm — transited through Nord Stream 1.
Moscow started reducing supplies to the EU in August 2021, which many across Europe said was an attempt by Russia to drive up the price and boost its case for the opening of Nord Stream 2.
After Russia launched its war in Ukraine, supplies to the EU were further reduced with Vladimir Putin demanding that European companies pay in roubles. Deliveries to 12 member states were either partially or completely stopped in what has been viewed as retaliation for sanctions.
Brussels swiftly announced a series of measures to mitigate the shortfall, ranging from new contracts with alternative suppliers to gas storage requirements for member states and gas-use reduction plans.
But given the scale of the bloc's dependency on Russian gas, the total Nord Stream cutoff now means that "Europe is entering a high-level gas insecurity," Irina Kustova, a research fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), told Euronews.
Russia is still delivering through other, smaller pipelines,
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