EU eyes trade with ‘reliable’ partners after war shock

BSS/AFP :
The European Union is looking for trade pacts with “reliable partners” to combat supply shocks, said the bloc’s trade commissioner on Thursday, pointing to its energy problems after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Europe is facing an energy crunch, with the price of electricity generation skyrocketing on a surge in gas prices after Moscow’s invasion.
“Russia is using its energy supplies as a weapon of blackmail and manipulation,” EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters in Washington after meeting US Trade Representative Katherine Tai.Russia has cut gas supplies to Europe in suspected retaliation against Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, and Europe’s hunt for gas has grown in urgency as winter approaches.
Countries like Germany have been hit especially hard, with a large portion of gas supplies coming from Moscow prior to the Ukraine conflict. Dombrovskis stressed the EU’s need to diversify away from Russian supplies, adding that the United States has “significantly” stepped up its supply.