The Scandinavian country assures it is willing to cover the supply as fuel represents only 8% of its consumption
Russia cut off gas to Finland at 7 a.m. on Saturday. He fulfilled his threat to punish the Scandinavian country for refusing to pay in rubles, a measure he has already taken with Poland and Bulgaria for the same reason. The retaliation in this case comes days after both Finland and Sweden submitted their NATO applications, a decision interpreted by Russian President Vladimir Putin as unbearable defiance.
“Gas supplies to Finland have been halted,” Finnish state-owned company Gasum said in a statement. The CEO, Mika Wijanen, called the decision “very regrettable”, but emphasized that the country has been preparing for this situation for some time and that the supply is guaranteed for the coming months. In the short term, the Balticonnector gas pipeline, which is connected to Estonia, will be put into operation.
Although Helsinki imports virtually all of its gas from Russia, the fuel represents only about 8% of its energy consumption. Most of it is used by industry, which has looked for alternatives. The damage can therefore be manageable.
The country has also taken measures for next winter. For example, it has announced that it will lease, together with Estonia, a regasification unit for floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) to receive the 10-year contract with the American Excelerate Energy. “This will allow us to free ourselves from Russian gas,” said Finance Minister Annika Saarikko.
However, Helsinki is also dealing with the power cut, which was passed by Moscow a few days ago, and with possible problems in the timber trade, one of the main energy sources.
In any case, the gas cut to Finland, which will be added to that of Poland and Bulgaria, is another warning to sailors by Russia. Despite the fact that oil and gas sales are Moscow’s main source of income, the EU is preparing for a general suspension, as the plan presented this week shows. The document contains rationing measures between Member States and the possibility to limit the price of this energy on the European market.
The twenty-seven, for their part, have already approved the embargo on Russian coal and are currently working on extending that veto to oil. But this is much more difficult without gas, and a multi-year plan has been drawn up for this, with various measures including more coal and nuclear.
Source: La Verdad
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