Europe is shaking from problems: what EU officials admitted to pranksters

Russian pranksters Vladimir Kuznetsov (Vovan) and Alexey Stolyarov (Lexus) published a new episode of the show, in which the heads of European cities were called on behalf of the mayor of Warsaw Rafał Trzaskowski and learned how Europe survived this winter, how energy prices and the level of support for Ukraine among the population have changed.

During the conversation, European officials admitted that their dependence on Russian gas and oil turned out to be quite strong, that the entire population of the EU countries suffers from this. However, rising prices for heating and electricity are not the only problem in Europe. What else did European politicians complain about, we tell in the material REN TV.

Quadruple increase in energy prices in The Hague

Pranksters Vovan and Lexus, on behalf of the mayor of Warsaw, spoke with representatives of the municipality of The Hague – director of international affairs Wim Jansen and his colleague Henry Thurlow, who deals with energy issues. Officials said that there is indeed an energy crisis in the Netherlands, but it does not lie in the availability of energy, but in its prices.

“Prices are high at the moment. I believe they are two to three times higher for the city’s residents compared to last year. It has cost the city’s residents dearly. We are taking a number of steps to help our city’s residents pay their utility bills.”said Henry Thurlow.

According to him, currently one cubic meter of gas costs about three euros, while two years ago its price was 80 euro cents. “Now it is four times more,” the official stressed.

Wim Jansen, in turn, noted that the cost of utilities has increased for all social institutions in Holland. However, according to him, the energy crisis is not the only problem in the city.

“A lot of Ukrainians come to the Netherlands, and most come primarily to The Hague, as the embassy is located here. So this is also a problem that we are dealing with. So our problem is much more than just energy prices”– explained the representative of the municipality of The Hague.

According to the official, the central government places a lot of responsibilities on municipal governments without allocating sufficient funds.

“Our problem is that the national government does not give us enough funding to solve the tasks that it sets for us”Thurlow complained.

Rising prices and social tension in Greece

The hero of the prank Vovan and Lexus was also the mayor of Athens Kostas Bakoyannis. In a conversation with the “mayor of Warsaw,” he said that the country has had a hard time this winter, but the next one may be even more difficult, taking into account prices and energy supplies.

Bakoyannis noted that Greece is providing military assistance to Kyiv, but the population began to lose enthusiasm in this regard.

“We have one religion with Russia, and from the very beginning, despite historical ties, our state turned out to be on the right side of history. We provide military and financial assistance to Ukraine, we work closely with NATO partners. We provided a naval port in Alexandroupolis in northern Greece, it is the main hub for the re-equipment and supply of the Armed Forces. But there is a feeling that our population is losing enthusiasm at the moment. This was to be expected”– the mayor of Athens shared the details with Russian bloggers.

However, according to Bakoyannis, the country’s authorities will continue to provide military assistance to Kyiv. In particular, options are being worked out for the supply of S-300 air defense systems to Ukraine.

“They are made in Russia. There was discussion regarding the supply of these systems, but there are legal difficulties: in accordance with the contract, the Russians must approve their transfer to any third party. Now other options for providing military assistance are being worked out”the mayor of Athens explained.

So, for example, the official said, several months ago, Greece used the route through Poland to transfer weapons to Kyiv.

Serious problems in Ireland

The mayor of Dublin, Caroline Conroy, was not entirely optimistic about the situation inside the country. In a conversation with the “mayor of Warsaw” she admitted that Ireland is experiencing serious problems due to the energy crisis.

According to the Dublin official, the rise in gas and oil prices has affected all residents of Ireland. And the main issue for the country remains dependence on Russian energy resources.

In addition, according to Conroy, inflation is observed in Ireland, as well as a shortage of housing for Ukrainian refugees.

“I’m not sure that we can overcome the crisis right away. People are facing many problems. But we will have to change. Change will be difficult for everyone. It is worth enduring the pain and acting as quickly as possible”– the head of Dublin believes.

Sweden’s dependence on Russian gas

The mayor of Bern, Alek von Graffenried, during a conversation with Vovan and Lexus, also admitted that Sweden is very dependent on Russian energy resources. And it will take time to correct this situation.

“We are much more dependent on Russian gas than we thought. A third of the city’s heating depends on gas”– the Swedish politician told the “head of Warsaw”.

According to him, earlier 45% of all gas was supplied from Russia, and now the Swedish authorities are trying to correct this situation.

“This is a longer-term challenge, and it will not be possible to solve it overnight. We missed these opportunities, now we are forced to pay for it”Graffenried emphasized.

One of the main topics of national policy is Ukrainian refugees, said the mayor of Bern. According to him, at the moment there are less than 100 thousand Ukrainians in Switzerland, and most of them are oligarchs.

“I stand for the fight against the oligarchs, for a tougher policy. Other forces are for a less tough approach”the official noted.

At the same time, when asked by Russian pranksters whether Sweden would assist in the supply of power generators to Donetsk and Luhansk, if such a request was received, Graffenried answered with a categorical refusal.

“No, we will not give anything (to the cities of the DNR and LNR)”said the Swedish politician.

“Belated measures” in Bulgaria

The last hero of the prank Vovan and Lexus was the head of the administration of Sofia Yordanka Fandykova. She said that in 2022, there was a particularly tense situation in Bulgaria. According to her, there was political instability in the country, and measures taken at the national level “were belated.”

“We are literally faced with the need to stop the movement of urban transport. Our urban transport is represented by metro, trams, electric buses and trolleybuses”– the head of Sofia shared the details with the “Warsaw mayor”.

The situation with gas was also not rosy, the official complained. According to her, operators are not able to pay for gas at the prices that are currently set.

“We have been assured that deliveries will be made throughout 2023. But there is no compensation for the price of gas. The costs are almost unbearable for Sofia’s heating operators. Citizens are also very unhappy, which is why we are trying to achieve compensation to ensure socially acceptable prices”– Fandykova explained.

In a conversation with a “Warsaw official,” she also noted that Sofia from the very beginning participated in supporting refugees from Ukraine and demonstrated her support in every possible way. However, not all residents of Sofia were happy about this. Moreover, the mayor of the capital of Bulgaria agreed with the proposal of “Rafal Tshaskovsky” to stop funding humanitarian programs in support of Ukrainian refugees and redirect these funds to European cities to solve internal problems.