Forget the Cold War – Russia holds the power to deliver a very cold winter to Europe

The EU, and Ireland, should be moving to reduce its dependence on Putin’s supplies of natural gas

Russian president Vladimir Putin signs an autograph on a natural gas pipeline in Vladivostok Picture: Getty

The EU currently imports more than half of all the energy it consumes. This €1 billion per day import dependency is estimated to be 90 per cent for crude oil, and 69 per cent for natural gas. What is most concerning about this is the fact that a very significant proportion of this comes from Russia. The EU is particularly dependent upon Russia for supplies of natural gas.

As a result of this ...