Putin's war on Europe's energy prices
Russia, which in 2021 supplied 45 percent of Europe’s gas imports, has now completely shut down the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline that runs under the Baltic Sea to Germany.
The war in Ukraine put the EU and the UK between a rock and a hard place. They had to choose between turning a blind eye to Putin’s unprovoked attack on a sovereign state, risking the possibility that Russia’s appetite would grow, thereby inviting additional attacks, perhaps even annexation of countries formerly part of the Soviet Union — or taking the moral high ground, enforcing forceful sanctions and risking Russian retaliation that could include a de facto gas embargo on the West.
The Europeans chose the latter.
A lot has been said about the EU’s inability to act as a united front, and the double standards it frequently employs. And yet, the bloc remains resolute in its decision to exert strong economic pressure on Russia while arming and supporting Ukraine.
But now, with winter coming, it’s going to be a whole different ballgame.
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