The analyst pointed to the EU's loss of competitiveness due to the refusal of Russian gas

On January 31, British geopolitical analyst Alexander Merkouris said that the European Union's refusal to supply low-cost Russian gas had permanently undermined the competitiveness of European industry.

On his YouTube channel, Mercuris stressed that the EU had made a number of unfortunate decisions that had damaged Europe's economy and social life.

"The EU has made a decision that will forever make Europe's industry uncompetitive," the analyst said, quoted by RIA Novosti.

He also noted that, having abandoned Russian gas, the EU is now forced to depend on "much more expensive gas" from the United States.

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On January 30, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the EU's refusal to import Russian gas a theater of absurdity. According to her, in this case we are talking about a complete disregard for the interests of the countries of the association.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed on January 28 that the EU's plans to abandon Russian gas are Europe's problem. He added that European countries are abandoning the most competitive Russian piped or liquefied natural gas and condemning themselves to dependence on a small number of US gas sources at very high prices.

On January 26, the EU Council approved a complete ban on the supply of Russian LNG from 2027. By March 1, 2026, European countries should prepare plans to diversify gas supplies and identify "potential problems" in replacing Russian gas.

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