To declare an energy lockdown, there first must be a state of emergency. At the end of March, the democratic government of Petr Fiala was so eager to grant itself undemocratic powers that it went around parliamentary convention and perhaps also the Constitution to extend the state of emergency regarding Ukrainian refugees by 58 days (instead of 30). Don’t doubt for a minute that the Fiala cabinet isn’t prepared to take equally assertive measures in the case of an energy crisis. MFD quoted Energy Envoy Václav Bartuška today as saying that if Nord Stream 1 is switched off, the cabinet plans to declare a state of emergency, confiscate the German-owned gas in Czech storage facilities and pay compensation to the owners. This would no doubt lead to an energy war between two countries that recently signed a Joint statement regarding energy security and also voted for an EU gas-conservation plan. The pro-EU Fiala cabinet could be about to go down a course that tears Europe apart.

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