How Putin is losing customers in Europe Mario Holzner - TVP World

[TexasTowelie]

For many, until the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian energy was a no-brainer: abundant and cheap, it helped usher in high margins and low costs for various businesses in Central Europe. The effect was an over-reliance on Russian supplies, which in some cases reached a virtual monopoly. In 2022, the EU decided to break with this policy and some countries are weaning themselves off Russian energy very efficiently. Poland, for example, has replaced Russian oil with Saudi crude and Russian gas with LNG imports. But not everyone is making progress. Austria imports more Russian gas than it used to (98%!), and Hungary is unwilling to replace Russian oil. Mario Holzer, the director of the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, helps us understand what is holding back the laggards in the region's biggest energy transition and what is propelling the leaders forward.