The president of the European Commission has said that European energy companies that have contracts in euros or dollars “should not agree to Russian demands” because they would be violating European sanctions against Moscow.
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Russia has today given the harshest response to the sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU), which has cut gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria for not paying the April gas bill in rubles. It has also indicated that shipments will be interrupted also for other countries If they don’t accept the new payment mechanism.
Right now Hungary it is the only state in the European Union that pays gas in rubles to Russia, but so far Russia has only punished Poland and Bulgaria.
The European Commission (EC) has described as “blackmail“what Russia has done. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, considers that this is a new Russian attempt to use gas as an instrument of blackmail. “It has no justification and it is unacceptable,” he said in a statement.
The Russian government, for its part, has denied these accusations claiming that they gave early notice that they would only accept payments in rubles and has suggested that some Member States have already started paying bills in rubles.
Sources of Gazpromfor their part, have stressed that the next payments will be in mid-May and that then it will be seen how these payments are made.
The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metzolafor its part, has expressed the request of the European Parliament for “a immediate pan-European embargo over Kremlin-controlled energy supplies” and has advocated “cutting off” “dependencies on autocrats once and for all”.
Brussels warns companies that paying Russian gas in rubles violates sanctions
This morning the EU gas coordination group met in an extraordinary manner to advance the coordinated response. Thus, and after the meeting, the president of the European Commission said that European energy companies that have contracts in euros or dollars “they must not accede to Russian demands” because they would be violating the European sanctions against Moscow and would incur a “high risk.
Faced with Peskov’s suggestion that some Member States have already begun to pay their bills in rubles, the president of the European Commission has avoided confirming them, but has stressed that “paying in rubles, if it is not provided for in the contract, is a breach of our sanctions.
Poland and Bulgaria have been calm
Poland and Bulgaria, the two countries affected so far, are highly dependent on Russia, 50% and 70%, respectively, but both governments have been calm. The Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, has said that the warehouses are full, specifically 76%.
The Bulgarian government could have more problems but they have indicated that they expect to receive liquefied gas from Turkey and Greece.
Source: Eitb
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