This day has been a long time coming. From the moment, more than a decade ago, when it was finally admitted that Europe was destined to be an energy importer, we were going to see the climax of the showdown between the West and Russia."Energy makes energy anyhow
So spend yourself and get rich right now"
โ Marillion "Rich"
Europe as energy importer always meant that time was on Russia's side. All it had to do was draw the conflict out long enough, survive long enough, to force Europe into submission. Russia has the energy Europe needs, no one else can supply it, therefore the final decision will be to accept this fate.
No amount of financial wizardry, pathetic virtue signaling about Climate Change, malinvestment into inefficient and unsustainable 'renewables,' or military threats would ultimately change the outcome of this story.
Output off the North Slope has fallen off and Groningen's gas fields are drying up faster than Hillary's va-jay-jay with each twist of John Durham's investigation into RussiaGate.
Every gambit to secure energy from Ukraine (Donbass coal, gas fields in the Sea of Azov) and the Middle East (Syria, EastMed Pipeline, Iran) have also failed.
This is the basic problem the EU faces in its quest for political hegemony. How does it get around this basic fact without fomenting 1) a political crisis at home and 2) a war with Russia and the rest of the Global South who support her, it cannot win?
Comment: See: Russia urges its allies to dump dollar and euro for trade deals