BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is bracing for another potential energy crisis in the dead of winter as Russian gas supplies to eight member states have suddenly dwindled.
The European Commission put its gas coordination committee on alert Friday, saying gas supplies had dwindled by up to 30 percent to some member states.
It insisted the situation had not yet reached an emergency level since coordination between nations to help each other had improved and storage facilities had been upgraded.
Commission spokeswoman Marlene Holzer said Russia was going through an extreme cold spell itself and needed more gas to keep its citizens warm.
Twice over the past decade, disputes between Russia and Ukraine turned into European emergencies as gas supplies diminished, leaving millions of people across the continent without heat.
