JRL NEWSWATCH: “Energy Dependence Ties Europe’s Hands in U.S.-Russia Crisis” – WSJ
“Europe gets almost one-third of its natural gas from Russia, limiting its ability to penalize Moscow.”
Europe’s growing dependence on Russian gas and oil is limiting [European] room to maneuver … and making [Europe] highly vulnerable … [if] escalation [occurs in the crisis with Russia]. … Western officials accuse [Russia] of withholding extra supplies in recent months to force European regulators to approve [Nord Stream 2, which] … the Kremlin denies. U.S. lawmakers and Ukraine say the pipeline would make Europe ever more dependent on Moscow. … Such dependence means European governments [reportedly] aren’t willing to consider sanctions on Russian energy exports[,] … backbone of the Russian economy …. They also are nervous about Moscow retaliating by slashing gas exports to Europe …. Russia’s saber-rattling on the Ukraine border and its failure to increase .. and … occasional throttling of [] gas deliveries to Europe already have helped … send energy prices rocketing there …”