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The EU Energy Ministers sent a common message in the face of Russian aggression. Do not pay Russia in rubles, they reiterated. Moscow's plan to pay for gas in rubles would violate European Union sanctions on Russia, EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simpson said after a meeting of energy ministers in Brussels on Monday.
Collective action, unity and solidarity. These are the words of the European Ministers of Energy, after the extraordinary council in which they participated in Brussels. EU member states should not have illusions about Gazprom, stress and urge not to deviate from contracts and sanctions.
The 27 energy ministers met extraordinarily, with the energy crisis at the heart of all European debates, as well as the issue of ways to react to Russia and new sanctions, key issues testing solidarity, and perhaps the cohesion of the European Union. Ongoing energy reserves and supplies to send a message of unity to Russia, that the EU is moving in a coordinated manner and will not be divided by Moscow's moves to close the gas tap in Poland and Bulgaria.
< strong> In search of a compromise solution
The EU is expected to decide by the end of the week on the sixth package of sanctions in Moscow and the imposition of an embargo on Russian oil.
At the table and the sixth package of EU sanctions against Russia, which will include a ban on imports of Russian oil, whose exports are a major source of revenue for Moscow, with the Commission reportedly proposing a compromise solution to give adjustment time but also to bypass the objections of Hungary, Slovakia, but also the Czech Republic, which are heavily dependent on Russian crude oil. According to the ERT correspondent in Brussels, a partial embargo may be proposed initially only for transport by tanker and not by pipeline.
Hungary has repeatedly stated that it will not co-sign sanctions related to the energy sector. Slovakia is also one of the EU countries most dependent on Russian fossil fuels.
“Germany is not opposed to an oil embargo by Russia”
“Germany is not opposed to an oil embargo by Russia. “The burden is heavy, but we are ready to bear it,” German Chancellor and Economy and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck said in Brussels today. Germany was heavily dependent on Russian oil before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which accounted for 35% of imports, but today managed to reduce it to 12%.
Mr Habeck said there was now only one refinery in Germany running on Russian oil. He noted that if an oil embargo came and we did not have enough time to solve it, the problem would be local in Germany, but would not hit the national economy as a whole.
Asked if he was in favor of a gradual embargo on Russian oil , Mr. Habeck replied that “we need some weeks and months to do all the technical preparations”, noting that “time helps”.
The German Chancellor pointed out that other countries in the EU have a much bigger problem of dependence on Russian oil and stressed that this is something that must be recognized and there must be solidarity.
It is recalled that the EU is struggling to reach a unified Russia's demands to European companies that buy Russian gas that they have to pay in rubles, otherwise they will see the supply stop.
France: “Europe will continue to pay for contracts in euros or dollars “
“We will continue to pay in euros or dollars, as stipulated in the contracts. “We can not accept this maneuver that violates the existing contracts.” This was stated by the French Minister of Environment, Barbara Pompili, coming to the Council of Ministers, regarding Moscow's demands for the payment of natural gas.”Following Russia's unilateral and brutal decision to cut off gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland, I have decided to convene this extraordinary Council of EU Energy Ministers, first and foremost to ensure our solidarity with these two countries and to “We condemn this act which violates the treaties and is unacceptable,” said the French Minister and President-in-Office of the Council.
She explained that the current Council will focus entirely on the issue of gas supply and in particular on the implementation of common policies to reduce dependence on Russian gas, but also on the implementation of measures announced at the Versailles European Council, such as the .χ. the gas storage facility at European level and the joint gas supply facility. The diversification of energy supply and greater solidarity at EU level will also be discussed as part of the European Commission's REPowerEU project, which aims to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
Asked if any European companies have already paid Moscow in rubles for gas, the French minister simply replied: “The important thing is to show that we all agree to continue to pay in euros and that we will not accept being imposed unilaterally. Amended contracts. “
In response to the same question, EU Energy Commissioner Cadry Simpson said she was unaware.
She noted that “Russia's request for payments in rubles is an obvious attempt to divide the EU” and stressed that there should be a response “with unity and solidarity”.
Source: ertnews.gr
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