Minister of Economic Affairs Martin Kocher (ÖVP) warns of economic consequences from the Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) aimed at quickly reducing dependence on Russian gas. “An exit that may be too quick must not cause any damage to the economy,” Kocher told dem Standard (Tuesday edition). All EU states have agreed to phase out Russian gas by 2027.
Ukraine has announced that it will suspend pipelines crossing its territory after the gas transit contract expires in early 2025. In December 2023, 98 percent of Austria’s gas imports came from Russia, in January 2024 it was 97 percent and in February it was 87 percent. “We share the goal of phasing out Russian gas. But we have to be careful to present this in practice in such a way that there is no gas shortage,” said the Economics Minister.
Gewessler recently sent the legislative package surrounding the diversification obligation for gas suppliers, announced in mid-February, to the government partner ÖVP. The Energy Minister’s legislative proposals include amendments to the Gas Industry Act, the Gas Diversification Act and the Energy Steering Act. According to the draft, starting with the gas year 2024/25, every gas supplier in Austria will be obliged to demonstrate an increasing proportion of non-Russian natural gas. In the first year, this share must be 40 percent of the total quantity delivered to customers. “Not all providers have said that they can easily get out of Russian gas. The goal of getting out is undisputed, the question is how to do it as well as possible,” said Kocher.
ÖVP energy spokeswoman Tanja Graf rejects the legislative package presented by the green coalition partner on the diversification obligation for gas suppliers. The Industrial Association (IV) is urging politicians to begin negotiations with Ukraine about continuing gas deliveries from Russia beyond the turn of the year. In mid-March, the WKÖ and IV called for a consortium to bring Russian gas to Austria via Ukrainian transit pipelines.