Historical turn: Austria remains without Russian gas - what's next?

Historical turn: Austria remains without Russian gas - what's next?

Vienna, Österreich - Russia has finally stopped its gas deliveries to Austria! Since January 1, 2025, after the transit contract has expired between Gazprom and Naftogaz, no Russian natural gas has flows over Ukraine to the Alpine Republic. According to the Austrian system operator AGGM, a significant decrease in gas deliveries was found, and the Slovak operator Eustream also confirmed the stop of the gas rivers from Ukrainian Uzhorod to Velke Kapusany. Gazprom said that due to the refusal of Ukraine to extend the contract, there are no technical options for gastransit.

Austrian care secured

The Austrian government and energy sectors are prepared. Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler emphasized that Austria had already taken strategic gas storage measures in advance. By the end of 2022, 20 terawatt hours of gas were secured as a reserve, while the memory are filled with around 80 terawatt hours. In addition, up to 185 terawatt hours per year can be imported across Germany and Italy. This enables Austria to compensate for the loss of Russian deliveries from other sources, as well as the AP " reported .

Ukraine has set the gastransite towards Europe to protect national security interests. The Ukrainian Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko described this step as a historical moment, since Russia thus loses significant markets and financial income. Before the war, the EU moved into almost 40% of its natural gas from Russia, and now the region remains under pressure to find alternative gas sources.

The Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who often expresses pro -Russian views, warned of serious consequences, while his Minister of Economy Denisa Saková still noted that Slovakia was well prepared. It remains important that only the Balkan stream pipeline, which transports gas from Turkey to Hungary, acts as the main path for Russian gas to Europe. The European Commission confidently commented that the European infrastructure is flexible enough even without Russian gas to ensure care.