Russia reopens Nord Stream gas pipeline, but EU remains on edge

BRUSSELS • Russia resumed pumping gas via its biggest pipeline to Europe yesterday after a 10-day outage, allaying some of the continent's immediate supply fears but not doing enough to end the threat of rationing to cope with potential winter shortages.

Supplies via Nord Stream 1, which runs under the Baltic Sea to Germany, were halted for maintenance on July 11. But even before that outage, flows had been cut to 40 per cent of the pipeline's capacity in a dispute prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Yesterday's flows were back at that 40 per cent level, Nord Stream figures showed, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned they could be reduced further or even stop.

The resumption of Nord Stream supplies at levels that remain well below the pipeline's capacity means Germany, which is particularly reliant on Russian fuel, and other European economies are still struggling to find enough gas for winter.

"In view of the missing 60 per cent and the political instability, there is no reason yet to give the all-clear," German network regulator president Klaus Mueller wrote on Twitter.

Gas flows via other pipeline routes, such as Ukraine, have also fallen since Russia invaded its neighbour in February, in what Moscow calls a special military operation.

Germany and several other states have already activated the first stages of emergency plans that in some cases could lead to rationing.

The European Union aims to have gas storage facilities 80 per cent full by Nov 1, while some EU states have higher targets. Inventories are now about two-thirds full, with a slowing pace of refilling.

To try to prevent a winter supply crunch, the European Commission has proposed a voluntary target for all EU states to cut gas use by 15 per cent from next month to March compared with usage in the same period in the years 2016 to 2021. The commission's proposal would enable Brussels to make the target mandatory in a supply emergency.

Several southern EU states opposed the plan, which needs a broad majority of support in the 27-nation bloc to proceed. Portugal said it would hamper power production during an extreme drought. Spain and Greece also voiced opposition.

"Russia is blackmailing us. Russia is using energy as a weapon," European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday, adding that Europe had to prepare for the worst now.

The Kremlin says Russia is a reliable energy supplier and blames sanctions for reduced flows.

Kremlin-controlled Gazprom had cut gas exports via the route last month to 40 per cent of capacity, blaming sanctions for delaying the return of a pipeline turbine that Siemens Energy was servicing in Canada.

Mr Putin added to Europe's concerns about supplies via Nord Stream 1 by saying on Wednesday that flows could be reduced further or stopped because the quality of serviced equipment could not be assured, and other equipment needed maintenance.

European states have been chasing alternative supplies, although the global gas market was stretched even before the Ukraine crisis, with demand for the fuel recovering from the pandemic-induced downturn.

Meanwhile, EU countries on Wednesday targeted Russian gold exports and froze assets at Russia's largest bank in an update to the sanctions imposed to punish Moscow for its invasion. "The main goal is to align with G-7 partners, reinforce the implementation and close the loopholes where necessary," the Czech government, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, tweeted.

The EU has so far approved six packages of sanctions on Russia. The last one, passed last month, imposed a ban on most Russian oil imports.

As she proposed the measures to member states last week, Dr Von der Leyen said the measures would help enforce earlier sanctions more effectively and extend them until January next year.

"Moscow must continue to pay a high price for its aggression," she added.

The embargo on gold imports fulfils a decision at a G-7 meeting last month in which EU members Germany, France and Italy took part. The sanctions will also freeze the assets of Russian bank Sberbank and add several personalities and entities to its blacklist.

The measures also unblock assets at Russian banks linked to trade in food and fertiliser in an effort to respond to Moscow's allegations that the sanctions are causing a food crisis.

This was a "commitment that sanctions won't endanger the food and energy security around the world", the Czech government said.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE