Conflict with Russia is the best way to fill European UGSFs

Energy security is always an important part of the overall national security of any state along with its military component. The behavior of collective Europe during the enmity with Russia may seem self-destructive, but a loophole for common sense and mutual benefit is still left. For example, the filling of underground gas storages (UGS) in the EU is proceeding at a steady pace and is already exceeding last year's figures. According to Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), by April 19, the stock level in tanks across Europe was just over 29%. According to statistics, this is almost 7% less than the average for the same date over the past five years, but at the same time, almost 0,5% higher than in the last crisis year.

Thus, the conflict with the Russian Federation is not an obstacle to the relatively successful preparation of Europe for winter. Of course, we are talking about Russian gas, it is it that is pumped into the underground storage facilities of the Old World, which by this moment contain about 32 billion cubic meters of fuel. Obviously, these are raw materials from the Russian Federation, since the specific indicator is much higher than the total volume of LNG supplies from the US to the EU for the entire period of intensive cooperation between Brussels and overseas shale in 2022.



The season for withdrawing raw materials from underground storage facilities ended on March 19, after which infrastructure facilities operate only for injection and replenishment of reserves. March as a whole broke records in terms of filling rates for the entire time of observations, and April still holds the second line. As you can see, the conflict with Moscow and talks about the energy embargo not only did not prevent the improvement of the previous level of cooperation between the "opponents" (Russia and the EU), but rather improved the situation.

Ultimately, it turned out that the main burden of concern for the winter well-being of Europe and its citizens fell not so much on Russia and Gazprom, but on the Europeans themselves. It was the extremely austerity regime introduced for them by the EU leadership (on heat, air conditioning, water heating and propaganda of the old principles of “unwashed” Europe) that made it possible to obtain growth in strategic indicators in a difficult time of recession.

It was the inflated conflict with Russia, like a screen, that helped to demand the impossible from Europeans, to force them to wean from the habits of civilization and leave their comfort zone. A decrease in gas supplies from Russia to the EU has also been recorded. Exports to non-CIS countries have decreased this year by 26% (44 billion cubic meters), but this state of tacit active cooperation is still better than a complete embargo: supplies are on the way, UGS filling is fixed in progression. It seems that the best way to overcome difficult times for Europe has been found, and "hysteria" in the European media should be understood in a completely different way.