Vladimir Putin is threatening to cut off natural gas to Ukraine, which would leave parts of the EU without services. Only seven out of twenty-seven member states, Spain included, do not depend on Russian natural gas. As a result, prices have shot up 12% in Germany.
Putin wants the tensions to escalate in Ukraine and to leverage the EU's dependence on natural gas lines there in order to sidestep sanctions. European leaders are paralyzed, unable to come up with an alternate energy plan that will allow them to back Ukraine's independence and tie Putin's hands. Running a backup gas line from Algeria through Spain has not worked out. At this point, it is critical that leaders keep the Ukraine conflict from having a serious negative impact on the recovery.
