Von der Leyen announces that the gas reserves of the European Union are already at 90%

2023-08-18 12:05:52

Updated Friday, August 18, 2023 – 12:05

The storage target, set for fear that Putin would cut off the supply, has been met more than two months ahead of schedule

Ursula von der Leyen. EFE Directo last hour on the war in Ukraine

He European Union gas storage (EU) is already at 90% of its capacity more than two months before the legal deadline of November 1 that the Member States had to reach that figure, announced this Thursday the president of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen.

“EU gas storage has reached 90% well ahead of need. This will help us be safe this winter. Together, we are freeing ourselves from Russian gas and continue to work in parallel on more diverse energy sources for the future,” Von der Leyen said on his X (formerly Twitter) account.

The Twenty-seven agreed in 2022, after the Russian war in Ukraine began, to force themselves to load the warehouses to 80% before November 1, 2022 and to 90% on the same date from 2023 for the fear that the Russian president, Vladmir Putin, definitively closed the supply of gas to the EU and the block was not prepared.

Last year, 90% was exceeded at the beginning of October and, after a particularly warm winter in Europe, deposits stood at 56% at the end of March 2023, above the 40% threshold that was considered critical in Europe. that date to be able to recharge without straits.

A rate, in addition, much higher than the 25.66% at the end of the previous winterr, a few weeks after Russia launched to invade Ukraine.