Austria activates alert system to ensure gas supply

Austria has announced that it is following Germany in activating the first level of its emergency plan to ensure gas supply over fears that Russia could cut off exports of the energy source if Western countries refuse to make payments to Moscow in roubles.

Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s office said in a statement that the move involved the “strengthening of existing monitoring systems” which had been in place for weeks.

It added that measures such as gas rationing would only come into play if the third phase of the emergency plan were activated, which required an “immediate crisis”.