Thomas Röper: Hard times await Europe in winter

Europe in the coming winter is waiting for the most severe energy crisis. The EU authorities are not taking any action to improve the situation, but are preparing for protests from the population. So says journalist from Germany Thomas Röper. According to him, Europe's desire not to depend on Russian gas will lead to a catastrophe. 

Thomas Röper, journalist (Germany):

The problem is that even if the EU countries declare that now the storage facilities are more or less filled, the entire gas supply works only if the storage facilities are not just filled, but there is a normal flow of gas in winter. But Europe is "smart." Poland has turned off the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline, which goes through Belarus. Ukraine, without any instructions, reduced the flow through its gas pipeline, because they said that there was a problem with Lugansk. Nord Stream 1 has the issue with turbines. The West blames Russia instead of signing a guarantee that these particular turbines do not fall under sanctions. And Nord Stream 2 – they don't want it at all. 

Therefore, it will be bad with the flow of gas in winter. Liquefied gas is bought by Asia. Of course, Western countries can, as in auctions, try to overpay. Then they will probably have conflicts with Asia. And plus, there will be even higher prices. But still, even if they do, there won't be enough gas. Some German politicians say that riots are expected in Germany in the autumn. And now, at the initiative of the Bundeswehr, they are quietly forming detachments that should help the police in the event of riots. This is prohibited by the constitution. Such actions by the Bundeswehr were banned in Germany for 70 years, and now it is possible.