European residents are facing a harsh winter with rising gas prices and extreme cold weather since Ukraine has stopped the transit of Russian natural gas to Europe.
Ukraine on Jan 1 stopped the transit of Russian natural gas to Europe following the expiration of a five-year transportation agreement, the Ukrainian Energy Ministry said.
With the start of the new year, temperatures in major European cities like London, Paris, and Berlin once dropped below zero, falling below the average levels of the past 30 years. From Wednesday evening to Thursday, heavy snowfall swept across Belgium, with minimum temperatures dropping below minus 1 degree Celsius.
The cold weather has led to increased heating demand, while the closure of the pipelines has driven up natural gas prices across Europe.
"My parents tell me to sometimes close my heating because it's too pricey. Every day, I hear someone complaining about the prices going up," said Saga, a student.
Since the escalation of the Ukraine crisis, the EU has sought to reduce its dependence on Russian energy, even going so far as to purchase liquefied natural gas from the United States at high prices. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump warned the European Union (EU) last month that it must commit to buying large amounts of U.S. oil and gas or face tariffs.
However, a European analyst points out that there remains a demand in the European market for inexpensive Russian natural gas, making it difficult for the EU to achieve 'decoupling' from Russian energy.
"Because the EU is still profiting from a relatively cheap Russian gas through these pipelines through Ukraine. Ukraine, by the way, has also been profiting through transit fees. And there is also opposition of some member states in the EU that still get Russian gas," said Philipp Lausberg, policy analyst of European Policy Centre.
Europe faces harsh winter as Ukraine halts Russian gas transit to Europe
Europe faces harsh winter as Ukraine halts Russian gas transit to Europe
Europe faces harsh winter as Ukraine halts Russian gas transit to Europe
The universal "reciprocal tariffs" imposed by the United States signals a decline in the U.S. economic dominance and dollar hegemony, as the country is attempting to extract excessive financial benefits from its trading partners, according to economists, who warn the Trump administration is playing a "dangerous game".
U.S. President Donald Trump last week signed an executive order on the so-called "reciprocal tariffs," imposing a 10-percent "minimum baseline tariff" before unveiling higher rates on certain trading partners. The policy sent shockwaves throughout the global economy and triggered panic on financial markets, with analysts warning of significant risks and dire economic consequences.
In an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN), Hong Hao, chief economist of the GROW Investment Group, a Shanghai-based hedge fund, said the tariffs reflect Trump's strategy to extract economic benefits from trading partners, particularly viewing China as a significant competitor. "Trump really believes that the trade terms with the trading partners have been unfair to the U.S., and as a result, the U.S. manufacturing sector has been hollowed out. Therefore, the U.S. is paying an excessive price for globalization, and now, it's time to pay back. I think, from this angle, he is trying to extract economic rent from its trading partners, and also he is trying to see China as one of the major U.S. rivals at this juncture. So, I think, as a result, he is playing a very dangerous game. And, as you can see, it's political theater in the sense that he is trying to dramatize the extreme pressure, so that he can get excessive rent from the opponent," he said
Trump's unilateral imposition of tariffs has eroded global confidence in the U.S. and its dollar's status, leading many to state that the American hegemony may not persist, according to Josef Gregory Mahoney, a professor of politics and international relations at East China Normal University.
"The U.S. economy is at an inflection point. There is a moment where the previous strategies being used to sustain American hegemony were no longer working. And, it's only a matter of time before the U.S. position erodes, given the fact that it's been a house of cards built on the dollar supremacy. And a lot of people don't see that as having a brighter future. This has moved past the theater stage and has moved really directly into one in which no one really has confidence in the U.S. anymore. No one has confidence in the dollar. No one has confidence in the U.S. being committed to the multilateral system, to global trade and so forth and so on," he said.
Trump playing "dangerous game" as tariff measures signal decline in U.S. dollar hegemony: economists
