Wifo boss Gabriel Felbermayr is critical of the planned EU-wide exit from Russian gas. Shutting down to zero creates new dependencies, said the head of the Institute for Economic Research. “It should be a certain mixed portfolio in a post-war world that will hopefully prevail then and not one that is just captivated by US liquefied gas,” said Felbermayr.
Austria, which, unlike Germany, still receives Russian gas, is of course counting on time and an end to the war in the medium term. “Many hope that the war in Ukraine will be over in 2027 and that there will be a new modus vivendi,” Felbermayr told the German news agency. The researcher considers it incorrect to assume that Austria is dependent on Russian gas given the high import share. “In the summer of 2022, the country proved that it can fill its storage facilities without Russian gas.”
Wifo boss for import duties on Russian gas
Last January, the share of Russian gas imported into Austria was almost 50 percent. “What we all don’t want is for the Kremlin to earn large amounts of foreign currency from the sale of gas,” Felbermayr said. That is why he is still in favor of an import tariff on Russian gas, which would make the raw material less attractive for new contracts with Moscow.
Not least in view of the gas storage facilities that are very well filled throughout the EU – in Austria the storage facilities are still 67 percent full (March 2022: 12 percent) – Felbermayr sees little danger of rapidly rising gas prices. The price level is only about twice what it was before the war in Ukraine. “The price can’t fall much further, but it won’t make jumps like it will in 2022.”
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
