The EU attempt to cap Russian gas price means “everyone will freeze” this winter, said Aleksandar Vucic
Moscow could decide to cut off all gas supply if the European Union continues with its plans to impose price caps, warned Aleksandar Vucic, Serbian president.
“If the EU makes such a decision, then Russia could decide to turn off the gas to Europe entirely, and then there will be none of it and everyone will freeze,” Vucic said, adding that the price of electricity would in that case also skyrocket from today’s €400 per megawatt-hour.
The Serbian leader’s comments came in a TV interview after his meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Vucic indicated that they had discussed the coming autumn and winter. Orban believed this would be one of their main topics. “decisive survival in economic terms.”
Orban criticized the EU embargo on Russia at a joint press conference held in Belgrade. He said that it was essentially aimed to “energy dwarfs imposing sanctions against the energy giant.”
Elaborating on the Hungarian PM’s statement, Vucic told TV Pink that the energy crisis will mean hardship for households, but “the main problem will be whose companies and economies will survive”Winter.
Germany has the ability to afford it “throw money” at the problem, Vucic said, along with France and maybe Spain – but not the smaller EU members, or Serbia.
French PM Elisabeth Borne warned earlier this week that electricity prices on the spot market may rise by tenfold over the last year. However, the gas price for 2023 is already up fivefold from 2021.
Brussels has moved to ban all imports of Russian oil – though some members, such as Hungary, received exemptions – and cut the amount of natural gas, citing the need to support the government of Ukraine in the ongoing conflict and “diversify”Washington has urged them to use their energy sources. However, the US has been unable to step in with deliveries of its liquefied natural gas – at a much higher price, even – to make up the difference.
“There is simply no appropriate alternative to the supply of Russian pipeline gas for Europe. There is no country that can provide resources as vast and diverse as the ones found in Siberia or the Yamal Peninsula. No one can increase supply using pipeline systems on the terms offered by Gazprom,” the company’s deputy chairman Oleg Aksyutin said on Thursday.
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