The European Commission (EC) has played down the impact of Russia halting gas exports to Europe via Ukraine on January 1st, stating that the move was anticipated and that Europe’s gas infrastructure is flexible enough to compensate for the loss of Russian gas through alternative routes. Since 2022, Europe has reinforced its gas infrastructure with new LNG (liquefied natural gas) import capacities, making the continent less reliant on Russian gas. Remaining European buyers of Russian gas, including Slovakia and Austria, have secured alternative supplies to maintain their energy needs.
Austria has confirmed that it is prepared for the end of the gas transit contract between Russia and Ukraine, sourcing its gas from Germany, Italy, and storage facilities. Slovakia, on the other hand, expressed significant concern over the impact of the disruption, particularly the economic toll. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico warned that the halt in gas transit would lead to lost transit revenues and higher import costs for Slovakia. He also predicted that the disruption would increase gas and electricity prices across Europe. Slovak gas importer SPP stated that sourcing gas from non-Russian suppliers in 2025 would incur an additional cost of about 90 million euros, mostly due to higher transit fees. However, SPP assured that it had prepared for the situation and would continue supplying its customers via alternative routes, primarily through pipelines from Germany and Hungary.
Gas transit through Ukraine previously accounted for around half of Russia’s total pipeline gas exports to Europe. Despite the halt via Ukraine, Russia continues to supply gas to Europe via the TurkStream pipeline, which runs under the Black Sea. TurkStream has two lines: one for Turkey and the other for central European countries, including Hungary and Serbia.
