Russian gas – Gross policy mistakes led to dependence

Decades of political reversal have made Austria far more dependent on Russian gas than almost any other country, criticizes Herbert Lechner, former head of the Energy Agency, in a study. Up to 80 percent formed the share of our imports. Last fall, that was briefly reduced to 20 percent, but recently rose sharply again to 71 percent. By way of comparison: EU-wide this was only 7.5 percent. In the Czech Republic, imports of Russian natural gas fell to zero in January – a marked difference from Austria. That is “worrying, the contracts between OMV and Gazprom urgently need to be on the table.”

OMV has a free hand
These agreements have existed since 1968. Despite many warnings, none of the governments have intervened since then, instead giving OMV complete free rein. Documents also show that the Russian leaders deliberately wanted to make us compliant and dependent on the gas and also charged higher prices than other countries (for example Germany), says Lechner. Under the contract, Gazprom will supply up to six billion cubic meters of gas by 2040.

In the mid-1960s, natural gas imports became a matter for the private sector, according to an energy agency. The risk of over-dependence was recognized early on, but consistently denied. Warnings came from various quarters. In 1971, ÖVP deputy Siegmund Burger said in the National Council that Austria’s energy supply was based on the premise of peace. Representatives of the EU commission said as early as 2008 that Russia used “gas as a political weapon”.