TEMPERATURES plunged across Europe last month, bringing chaos and a gas-demand surge. But as the continent struggled to keep warm, Russian gas exports slowed. Gazprom, citing a steep rise in domestic demand, admitted it had been forced to reduce exports to various countries by up to 10% for a few days.
Although Gazprom said deliveries had returned to normal by 5 February – the EU confirmed this on 6 February – and executives insisted the firm had not breached any contractual obligations, many countries, including Italy, dispute this.
The western press was quick to attack the Russian gas monopoly, claiming the February dip was yet another example of its unreliability. The company certainly has form: it cut gas supplies to Europe at the height of winter in 2006 and 2009 over pricing rows with Ukraine, which transits most of Russia’s exports to the EU. Yet many analysts argue that this time, Gazprom...