EU Commission calls gas freeze blackmail

Following the halt in Russian gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, the EU Commission is defending itself against attempts at blackmail. Experts are making predictions about the effects on the affected states and transits to the rest of the EU.

The situation in Poland and Bulgaria is under control, it was said after a crisis meeting in Brussels. Serious supply bottlenecks are not to be feared, said an EU diplomat. Poland and Bulgaria had planned to phase out Russian gas by the end of the year anyway. Poland would be affected by 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year, but could get supplies from LNG terminals, and storage facilities in the country were 76 percent full, tweeted Bruegel expert Simone Tagliapietra.

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