The sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines has set off alarm bells in all European capitals. Also in Brussels, headquarters of the European Commission, which today announced that it will propose to the member states to carry out as soon as possible a coordinated stress test on their critical energy infrastructures in order to verify their level of preparation and resistance to possible deliberate attacks, as they are convinced has happened with the Baltic pipelines.
"There is a possibility that an incident will have a serious impact on the internal market, beyond national borders, which is why a European approach is necessary" to carry out these stress tests, explained the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, who will work with the head of the Interior portfolio, Ylva Johansson, to propose an action plan to the 27 countries of the Union. "We are going to work with member states to decide on the best approach and schedule to test the resilience of the European system against threats."
"The energy ministers have committed to stepping up their efforts to increase the protection and resilience of their critical infrastructure, including gas pipelines," added Czech Industry Minister Jozef Sikela, whose country holds the rotating Council presidency. The European Union has just updated its legislation on the protection of critical infrastructures but the new, more demanding standards are not yet in force. The regulation in force is a 2008 directive that defines oil and gas production, refining, treatment and storage plants, including pipelines, electricity generation plants, as well as electricity transmission and distribution networks, as critical energy facilities. , gas and oil. Brussels wants to help countries that need it to raise their level of preparation for "potential attacks" and to be prepared to "repair" possible damage.
"This is not a one-off issue that only affects the countries to which the gas reached, nor is it an exclusive issue of energy", highlighted Teresa Ribera, vice president for the Energy Transition, at the end of the meeting, in which the representatives of Denmark and Sweden have provided their partners with details on the status of the investigations into the leaks. According to the report sent by these countries to the president of the United Nations Security Council, the explosions registered on Monday in the Baltic seabed, near where the gas leaks were later detected, are comparable to the activation of "several hundred kilos" of explosive material.
In light of these events, Ribera has agreed that it is necessary to "continue to pay attention" to the security of infrastructures and accelerate the energy transition to reinforce "European strategic autonomy". "This matter forces us to think deeply about how to ensure that things work reasonably well, without shocks or blackmail. Whatever happens, it is very difficult for the relationship with our neighbor to the east to be the same again."
