Moldovan Prime Minister Doreen Lesion speaks at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, USA, Friday, September 27, 2024.
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Moldova’s parliament voted Friday to approve a 60-day state of emergency ahead of a disruption in Russian gas supplies, citing concerns about an immediate threat to the safety of citizens.
Russian gas is currently reaching Moldova, a landlocked country located in the northeastern corner of Europe’s Balkan region, via neighboring Ukraine.
But the gas transit contract between Russia’s Gazprom and Ukraine’s Naftogaz is set to expire on December 31, and Kiev has repeatedly said it has no intention of extending it.
A total of 56 lawmakers in Moldova’s 101-seat parliament voted in favor of a nationwide state of emergency. The government said this would enable the country to apply a series of measures to prevent and mitigate the threat of energy resource shortages.
A disruption in Russian gas supplies to Moldova’s Transnistrian region could lead to a “humanitarian crisis” as well as a “risk to the functioning and stability” of the country’s energy sector, according to a press release from the Moldovan parliament.
Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Resian said this winter would be the last in the country’s history to be held hostage by energy supply problems.
Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago, has previously said it is prepared to continue supplying gas to Europe through Ukraine.
Russia launched large-scale airstrikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Friday morning. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow used 93 missiles and nearly 200 drones in the attack.
Flow regulator valve at a Moldovan natural gas measuring station.
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Analysts at Dutch bank ING said Russia cutting off gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine would mean the EU would lose about 15 billion cubic meters of gas supplies per year, equivalent to about 5% of total imports.
“There have been efforts to maintain gas flows through swaps with Azerbaijan, but these flows appear likely to be disrupted and we believe this should be priced into the market,” said Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy at ING. In a research note published Wednesday.
“This leaves downside risks to the market. If this trend continues for any reason, the European market will be better supplied than many had expected,” he added.
