At the end of May some of the contracts of European countries with Russia for the supply of gas expire. A fact that resurfaces the fear of possible cuts by Russia, since Europe continues to refuse to comply with the requirement to pay in rubles, as Putin demanded.
The European Commission, Warsaw and Sofia assure that “there is no immediate risk” for Polish and Bulgarian companies or consumers and, in the medium term, Poland will be able to receive gas from Lithuania and Bulgaria from Greece. But Gazprom’s unilateral supply cuts are “a turning point in the current crisis”according to the Energy Commissioner, Kadri Simson, who does not rule out that Moscow could order a gas cut to the entire EU in the face of the cold half of the year.
The underground reserves of the Member States, which the Commission wants them to reach 80% before next fall, are currently at 32% “and growing”. But Brussels – and Moscow – knows that warehouses and diversification will not be enough. “We cannot replace 165,000 million cubic meters of gas with other suppliers,” recognized Simson, who indicated that it will be necessary to rely on renewables and hydrogen and recalled that at the end of May the Commission will present the details of its plan to accelerate the disconnection of Russian energy.
Also by the end of May, the Kremlin wants European importers to submit to Russia’s new payment system, which requires buyers to open a euro and ruble account at Gazprombank. Brussels insists that European companies cannot agree to pay in rubles because that maneuver would implicate the Central Bank of Russia, would hold its currency and would be “a violation of the sanctions” against Russia. But the companies demand more clarifications and Brussels, which says it has no information that any European company has accessed these payments, has promised to publish “in the next few days” new guidelines so that importers know how they can legally buy energy from Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
This extreme is causing the European Union to anticipate and look for alternatives. Thus, it would be generating a plan that guarantees supply, forcing states to share gas resources. The High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, has predicted that European countries will stop buying oil from Russia “well before the end of the year”. “I hope so, well before the end of the year,” he assured after participating in Panama in a meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Central American Integration System (SICA) and the Caribbean Community (SICA) with the EU.
In addition, regarding Hungary’s claim to agree to pay for Russian gas in rubles, as Moscow has demanded, the High Representative of the EU has been very forceful in recalling that the European Commission “has clearly stated that the rules are followed and that payments are made in accordance with the signed contracts (…) and this goes for hungary“.
Source: Lasexta
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
