Until now, Austria had been one of three landlocked Central European countries to resist EU policy demanding the members wean themselves off Russian natural gas supplies, with the nations, which also include Hungary and Slovakia, citing the costs and logistical difficulties associated with securing alternative and affordable sources of energy.
Gazprom turned off the taps on gas heading to Austria early Saturday after Austrian energy company OMV announced that it would stop paying for deliveries after winning a €230 million arbitration award from the International Chamber of Commerce related to a contractual dispute with the Russian gas giant.Austria had relied on cheap, dependable pipeline-delivered Russian gas since the 1960s, with deliveries helping to ensure the Central European nation’s energy security, and fueling an ‘economic miracle’ which made Austria one of the wealthiest countries in the EU by per capita GDP.
