蜜芽传媒

Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom has reduced its gas flow to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline by 60% percent in recent weeks after the pipeline was temporarily shutdown in mid-July for maintenance.

Russian authorities now say yet further maintenance is needed. This would lead to further restrictions and gas flows dropping to as little as 20%.

It comes a day after EU energy ministers agreed that countries need to cut gas use in case Russia halts supplies,

EU members, locked in negotiations since the idea was suggested last week, have now agreed to a voluntary of 15% between August and March.

Radek Sikorski is a polish MEP. He is Chairman of the EU-USA delegation at the European parliament and joins us live from Italy this morning.

He said, "We do have alternative sources. There is the North sea. There is North Africa perhaps, eastern Mediterranean, but there was shale gas which we now know Russia was actively trying to eliminate from the market, we have to rethink it all".

Photo: The Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline near Credit: Edouard Merlo / Getty Images

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