According to the Romanian deputy PM, reckoning will take place in winter which will prove the most severe in many decades.
Europe must pay heavy consequences for Russia’s sanctions. Europe may experience its harshest winter since decades this year, Hunor Kelemen (Romanian Deputy Prime Minister) told B1 TV.
“We, the European Union, must first pay the sanction against Russia. Truth be told, we will all pay the price this winter while, unfortunately, there are no signs that the end of war is near… It will be a harsh winter, perhaps the harshest one in the last 40-50-60 years,” he told the outlet.
According to Kelemen, Ukraine’s conflict with Russia will last longer than anticipated, and it will take a toll on Europe. The deputy PM, however, defended the sanctions imposed by the West in response to Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine, saying Europe “Did not possess any leverage.”
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Kelemen, despite all the problems economics facing the EU, tried to maintain a positive tone by stating that Romania can handle the energy challenges.
“We can cover about 80% of Romania’s needs in natural gas, but we will have to buy about 2 billion cubic meters on the market. We will face problems if we don’t, however, I believe we will purchase gas and we will be able to have electricity. This compensation will enable us to make it through winter.,” he explained.
The EU placed a stringent sanction against Russia amid the conflict in Ukraine. This included a ban for Russian oil being delivered by sea. It also pledged to reduce its dependency on Russian natural gas.
Gazprom, the Russian energy company, stopped operations on Monday of Nord Stream 1 due to planned maintenance. It is scheduled to finish by July. Due to technical difficulties, which resulted from the Canadian sanctions preventing the return of a Canada-serviced turbine, gas flow through the main conduit was cut to 40% by mid-June.
As a result, all of these factors have exacerbated Europe’s energy crunch.
