Russian gas hovers over a Ukraine-EU summit

Gas prices in Europe and the Russian-German Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline: the energy theme should be at the heart of the Ukraine-EU summit on Tuesday, especially as the issue is a growing source of Kiev's grievances against its European allies. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will welcome the leaders of the European Council Charles Michel and the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen to Kiev. The summit comes at a time of soaring gas prices in Europe, bad news for Kiev, which wants to curb the commissioning of Nord Stream 2, a gas pipeline with a capacity of 55 billion cubic meters per year that directly links Russia and Germany bypassing Ukraine. This, according to Moscow, stabilizes tariffs. For the EU, this tube is not a priority, as it does not reduce dependence on Russian gas, but it has not fought against it. If the subject is sensitive, it is because the gas pipeline risks depriving the Ukrainian ally of at least 1.5 billion dollars per year affected for the transit of Russian gas through its territory. The Ukrainian presidency therefore vows that it will “fight to the end” to prevent the commissioning of Nord Stream 2, which is still waiting for the green light from a German regulator

AT A GLANCE

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg was officially sworn into the chancellery on Monday in an attempt to restore confidence and stability, two days after Sebastian Kurz resigned, swept away by a corruption scandal.

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