The 27 energy ministers are meeting today as the EU struggles to reach a united front after Russia insisted that European companies buying Russian gas should to pay in rublesotherwise they will see the supply stop.
Moscow cut off supplies to Bulgaria and Poland last week after refusing to comply with a requirement to pay for gas practically in rubles.
Sofia and Warsaw assure that they intended to stop are supplied with natural gas from Russia during the year and can deal with the interruption of deliveries. However, Moscow’s move raised fears that other countries could face similar treatment, including Germany, Europe’s largest gas-dependent European economy.
Developments on the issue may lead to cracks on the EU’s united front against Russia, as many member states have differing views on what is the right course to take.
With many European companies under pressure as they have payment deadlines within the month, member state governments are pushing for clarification on whether they can continue to buy gas this way without being seen as violating European sanctions against Russia over of its military invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow has clarified that European gas buyers are now required to deposit euros or dollars in special accounts with the private Russian bank Gazprombank, which will then convert the amounts into rubles.
The European Commission informed the 27 that compliance with this Russian requirement could be considered a breach of EU sanctions. .
Bulgaria, Denmark, Greece, Poland, Slovakia and other Member States have called for clearer instructions. Brussels assures that they are preparing them.
Russia sees no problem
The Russian government insisted on Friday that it did not see any problem with the demand. From now on he will consider that the payments were made only after the foreign currency was converted into rubles.
While Bulgaria and Poland have refused to comply with Russia’s demands, Germany seems to prefer the sanctions proposed by the Commissionto allow companies to pay in rubles, while Hungary has also made it clear that it intends to meet Moscow’s demand.
Payments in rubles will help Russia mitigate the impact of sanctions. Its revenues from hydrocarbon exports also partly cover the costs of what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine.
EU member states are estimated to have paid 45 billion euros to Russia for gas and oil since Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24, according to data compiled by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Energy and Clean Air “).
Russia supplies 40 percent of the EU’s gas and 26 percent of its oil imports. their economies.
The EU is set to impose an embargo on Russian oil by the end of the year, according to diplomatic sources, following talks between the European Commission and Member States over the weekend ahead of this week’s meetings.
The ambassadors will negotiate during their meeting the day after Wednesday the 6th EU sanctions package against Moscow, which is being drafted by the Commission.
Ministers will also discuss the need to ensure urgency other sources of gas supplyexcept Russia, as well as to fill the storage tanks, to deal with possible supply shocks.
Dependence on Russian gas varies between Member States. However, analysts point out that if imports stopped suddenly, many EU member states, including Germany, would sink into recession and see factories close.
Austria, Hungary, Italy and Slovakia voiced reservations over the Russian oil embargo over the weekend, diplomatic sources said.
Within a month, the European Commission is expected to present a plan to end Europe’s dependence on Russia’s fossil fuels by 2027; .
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