Europe and Russia have been gas-bound frenemies for decades. In Washington today, recently installed German Chancellor
Olaf Scholz
will be under serious pressure to rethink the relationship. While a quick breakup isn’t likely, change is coming.
Previous Ukraine crises pushed Europe to link up its internal energy market and invest in renewable power. The current one is likely to give another boost to clean energy and improve the region’s connections with the rest of the world.
About 40% of Europe’s gas imports come from Russia, while 70% of state-run supplier
Gazprom’s
gas pipeline sales are to Western Europe. The close German-Russian relationship is no accident. It was built on a Cold War-era West German policy of “pipeline…
