Energy crisis sires new European order: a strong Italy and ailing Germany

Energy crisis sires new European order: a strong Italy and ailing Germany

In the weeks after Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Italian energy major Eni, embarked on a whirlwind of trips to gas suppliers in Africa.

The visits included meetings with officials in Algeria in February plus talks in Angola, Egypt and Republic of Congo in March, with Descalzi often accompanied by senior Rome officials, according to company and government releases.

State-controlled Eni and Italy were able to leverage existing supply relationships with those nations to secure extra gas to replace a large part of the volumes it received from its top supplier Russia.

It's a nimble shift that many European countries have been unable to perform as Vladimir Putin's war jolts the continent into an alternate reality.

Take Germany. An economic powerhouse and long a byword for prudent planning, it has been caught wholly unprepared. It's on the brink of recession, its industry is preparing for gas and power rationing and it has just nationalised a major utility.

Italy, a country familiar with economic crises, is looking comparatively resilient. It has secured additional supplies and is confident it will not need to ration gas, with its government hailing the nation as the "best in Europe" on energy security.

"The appreciation Descalzi