The EU strategy is obvious: stock up enough natural gas to try to outlast the need Russia’s gas exporters have for European cash. Zerohedge points out three possible problems with that strategy:
1) What if the weather is considerably colder than normal this winter? (i.e. they need more supply)
2) Russia has already committed to supporting the sanctioned firms.
3) German industrials will need energy in the spring.
This also ignores one fundamental flaw in the concept. If the EU is stocking up on its gas supplies, then it is already paying the Russian firms for the gas they would have otherwise expected to buy during the winter. Now they’re buying it early, which means this tactic won’t put any more financial pressure on the Russian firms than it would have if they took delivery later, and accordingly, paid later as well.
Perhaps they’re expecting that the Russians will take all their newly received cash and put it in the NYSE, which will then crash violently, thereby depriving them of it. A stroke of pure genius!