Gas reserves in France’s UGS facilities down below 30%

#Gas reserves in underground gas storage (UGS) facilities in #France, which is among Europe’s top countries in terms of the volume of gas storage capacity, have dropped below 30%, according to data provided by Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). As of February 9, French UGS facilities were 29.85% full with around 3.9 bln cubic meters (bcm) of gas stored in them.

Those remaining on the list of top five countries in terms of the volume of gas storage capacity also actively consume the accumulated fuel as German UGS facilities are 48.66% full, Austrian UGS facilities are 58.81% full, Italian UGS are 58.92% full, while in the Netherlands UGS facilities are 33.4% full. Slovakian UGS are 55.87% full, Hungarian UGS are 52.03% full, Czech UGS are 48.25% full, Romanian UGS are 40.29%, Bulgarian UGS are 49.3% full, Belgian UGS are 35.5% full, while UGS facilities in Denmark, Latvia and Croatia are 41.87%, 52.32% and 29.94% full, respectively.

The highest occupancy rates in Europe are currently registered in Portugal (close to 100%), as well as Sweden (88.05%), Spain (69.14%), and Poland (62.1%).

Could US leave the World Health Organization next week?

It is estimated that the US will withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) within the first days of Trump taking office. As you may recall, Trump already withdrew from the organization during his previous term, but Biden reversed the decision.

The US currently provides the #WHO with about a billion dollars a year, but since 80% of the organization's funding comes from private entities, it is estimated that the organization could function without American support.
A number of other countries, such as Slovenia and Austria, have also recently expressed concerns that the WHO could override the country's national sovereignty.
A spokesperson for the European Commission stated that the Commission would do its best to support the WHO, within the limits of its budget.

Gas reserves in storage facilities in France, the Netherlands fall below 50%

#Gas reserves in underground storage facilities (UGS) in France and the #Netherlands have fallen below 50%, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). As of January 15, UGS facilities in #France were 49.24% full, holding about 6.4 bln cubic meters of gas. Withdrawals from storage facilities in the country have reached their maximum since the beginning of the heating season.

Gas reserves in storage facilities in the Netherlands fell to 47.58%, in Croatia - to 47.74%. These are the lowest figures among all EU countries.

The highest level of storage capacity in Europe is currently reported in Portugal (almost 100%). Sweden (88.04%), Spain (77.48%), and Poland (77.35%) are also at the top of the list. Italy's UGS facilities are filled to 71.44%, Austria - to 70.31%, Germany - to 68.48%, Slovakia - to 67.59%, Bulgaria - to 65.18%, Hungary - to 62.68%. Reserves also fell below 60% in Latvia (59.92%), the Czech Republic (59.34%), Romania (56.38%), Belgium (55.81%), and Denmark (53.87%).

Exit polls in EU elections - Right wing parties take top spots all across the EU
Right-wing has grown stronger in all of #Europe, according to the European Parliament election models.

Marie Le Pen's party in France wins 31.5% while current leading Macron's party wins only 15.2%
Le Pen's party may be the largest in the European Parliament

In #Germany, the Afd, the far-right party in Germany, wins second place in the German elections while the leading socialists are far behind in third place.

In #Austria the Freedom Party is leading

Right-wing parties also won in #Cyprus, #Greece and the #Netherlands. To summarize: the center-right bloc in the European Parliament will be the largest by a significant margin over second place

French President #Macron announced snap parliamentary elections on June 30. Second round on July 7.

EU countries unable to come to terms on further weapons supplies to Ukraine

Leaders of European countries meeting at a Brussels summit cannot agree on the terms for further financing of arms supplies to Ukraine, the European edition of Politico said in an article.

According to Politico, the only consensus that has been reached among the EU heads of state and government on Thursday, namely instructing the European Investment Bank (EIB) to adapt its lending policies for the needs of the defense industry, is evidence that the bloc’s members are unable to come to terms. "Let's be honest: Nothing real is decided on financing defense," a European official told Politico.

The authoritative publication notes that the bloc’s countries are divided in their opinions on some profoundly important measures, in particular support for European financing of weapons supplies to Ukraine via joint defense obligations. Poland, France and Estonia favor the release of Eurobonds, while Austria, Germany and the Netherlands oppose it. According to some European diplomats, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and acting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte stated their disagreement with this proposal during the summit.

A regular two-day EU summit in Brussels kicked off on Thursday. Within this event, the EU leaders intend to discuss the urgent and intense need for additional military support for Kiev. European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen, following the meeting, said that the EU did not decide to float defense Eurobonds for financing and reinforcing the EU defense industry. The final statement notes that the EU leaders did not agree on any decision to expropriate investment income earned on Russia’s frozen sovereign assets held at European financial institutions. The relevant ministers were instructed to continue working on the proposals made by the EC and EU diplomatic department.