Italy defies NATO escalation as a European court ruling threatens to cut off Russian gas sooner than expected, affecting Austria’s OMV and potentially devastating Italy’s industrial sector.

In a roundabout sense, all pipeline supplies of Russian gas to Austria and consequently Italy could soon come to an end due to an unclear legal decision. When combined with the ongoing disturbances in the Red Sea, the economic ramifications for the second-biggest industrial hub in Europe may be disastrous.

A verdict rendered in late May by an unknown European court may indirectly compel Austria's largest gas firm, OMV (Österreichische Mineralölverwaltung, or Austrian Mineral Oil Administration), to cease purchasing Russian gas.

A little history:

Everything here relates to the "freezing" in 2022 by the West of hundreds of billions of Russian foreign assets. Putin responded to that action by launching the "gas for roubles" program, which placed the Russian Central Bank in charge of ha...