DISINFO: The energy crisis in Europe is due to European mistakes, not Russia
SUMMARY
Starting from 2014, the EU has committed many economic mistakes leading to the energy crisis. Russia did not voluntarily close the transit routes, blew up the Nord Stream pipelines and initiated a withdrawal from energy cooperation. The German coalition government and its predecessors caused a deepening energy crisis, large-scale gas supply disruptions and increasing inflation. The EU has made many other economic mistakes since 2014, such as increasing inflation by printing the euro and depriving itself of cheap Russian energy.
RESPONSE
This message is a part of a popular pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative, claiming that the energy crisis in Europe is caused by an “irrational” European plan to eliminate its dependency on Russian gas. This narrative promotes a traditional pro-Kremlin message that Russia is the only reliable gas source for Europe, while American LNG is too expensive.
After the outbreak of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian authorities completely destroyed European trust in Gazprom as a predictable and solid partner. Throughout 2022, Russia deliberately cut the gas supplies to the EU.
The diversification of energy supplies is one of the cornerstones of the EU’s energy policy – it helps to strengthen European energy security, to prevent the monopolisation of the energy market and to introduce more competition to the energy market. See also the 3 December statement from the Council of the EU on the decision to set an oil price cap originating in or are exported from Russia:
"The price cap on Russian oil will limit price surges driven by extraordinary market conditions and drastically reduce the revenues Russia has earned from oil after it unleashed its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine. It will also serve to stabilise global energy prices while mitigating adverse consequences on energy supply to third countries".
See more disinformation cases on energy issues amid the invasion of Ukraine.