As Moscow continues to cut its gas supplies to the European Union, creating panic on both sides of the Atlantic over potentially severe gas shortages heading into winter, US officials say the Biden administration is working frantically behind the scenes to maintain European allies’ unity against Russia.

Russia’s state-owned gas supply corporation Gazprom announced on Monday that it would reduce flows via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany to barely 20% of its capacity, or about half. According to a US official, the action was taken in retribution for western sanctions and placed the West in an “uncharted area” with regard to whether Europe will have access to enough gas to survive through the winter.

Russia’s state-owned gas company Gazprom

Tuesday’s meeting of EU energy ministers was likely to result in the approval of a weakened emergency plan to cut gas supply, with opt-out clauses allowing some countries to take alternative preparation measures in the case of Russian supply disruptions.

Amos Hochstein, the White House’s presidential coordinator for global energy, was sent to Europe on Tuesday as a result of the unrest, according to authorities. He will visit Paris and Brussels to speak with the US-EU energy task group established in March—one month after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—about emergency planning.

The US official admitted that this was their top concern. According to the insider, the impact on Europe could boomerang back onto the US and drive up natural gas and power prices. As Russia shows no signs of backing down from Ukraine, it will also be a significant test of European strength and togetherness.

Russia cuts gas supplies to Europe

US officials, who have been in constant contact with German and French authorities, especially on this matter, are quite concerned that Europe could have a significant gas shortage as winter approaches. This is because, with Nord Stream 1 only contributing a portion of its capacity, EU countries will find it difficult to fill their reserves over the next months

The US cautioned that construction would simply make Europe more dependent on the Russian gas supply. Germany, however, countered that the project was entirely commercial and that it might act as a transitional source of energy since it phased out coal and nuclear power. In the end, the US granted waivers that allowed the pipeline project to proceed without being subject to onerous sanctions.

Russia cuts gas supplies to Europe

Officials now believe it will be difficult to resolve the shortages with a 15% reduction in Europe’s gas use and an increase in liquefied natural gas exports to Europe from around the world, including the US. Russia’s actions, according to a spokesperson for the National Security Council, are only its most recent attempts to “exploit natural gas as a political and economic weapon.”