EU lawmaker: Austria has no alternative to Russian gas

Austrian Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler, who has called on domestic suppliers to speed up the process of decoupling from Russian gas, is a “delusional green deal fanatic” who needs a reality check, as Austria has so far found no alternative to Russian exports, Roman Haider, an EU lawmaker, said.

Gewessler called on domestic suppliers to speed up the process of decoupling from Russian gas at a meeting with energy companies on Monday.

“This minister is a delusional green-deal-fanatic. She has no idea how to shift away from Russian gas, so she invited the gas suppliers to tell her how. After the meeting she didn’t know any more than before. The truth is that Austria has no alternative to Russian gas,” Haider said.

When reminded of an agreement signed by the Austrian government with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the supply of LNG, the lawmaker ridiculed the deal, stressing that it would cover only about 1% of the country’s total gas consumption.

Haider also highlighted that since November 2022, the country’s share of Russian production, on the contrary, has started to increase, exceeding 70% in December.

The EU ban on the transportation of Russian oil by sea to third countries came into force in December for crude oil, and in February — for fuel.

“They always say that Austria gets 64% of its gas from Russia. But the rest comes via Germany and Italy. Austria doesn’t want to know, where these countries get that gas from … So we’re prone to believe that much more than the declared 64% comes from Russia,” he said, adding that social discontent over inflation in the country continues to grow.

“Prices are on the increase, people cannot afford a normal live. So they don’t care where the gas comes from, as long as the prices go back to lower levels,” the politician concluded.

Source: Sputnik