The EU on Monday told member states to prepare for a possible complete breakdown in gas supplies from Russia, insisting that it would not cede to Moscow’s demand that imports be paid for in rubles.
The European Commission was yesterday to propose to member states a new package of sanctions to punish the Kremlin for its invasion of Ukraine, including an embargo on Russian oil, officials said.
However, energy and environment ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday addressed the larger and potentially more complicated issue of Russia’s natural gas, upon which several countries, including Germany, depend for much of their power generation.
Photo: AFP
Moscow has demanded clients from “unfriendly countries” — including EU member states — pay for gas in rubles, a way to sidestep Western financial sanctions against its central bank. It has cut off Bulgaria and Poland after their firms refused to comply.
After the talks, the chair of the meeting, French Minister of the Ecological Transition Barbara Pompili, and European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson said that the 27 member states were united with Poland and Bulgaria, and would stockpile gas to be prepare for a breakdown.
Simson said that “following the full procedure as set out by Russia constitutes a breach of sanctions” imposed by the EU.
She said that, to her knowledge, no European company was preparing to follow Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decree and change its payment methods.
According to a draft EU document, the EU is to step up cooperation with countries in Africa to help the bloc replace imports of Russian natural gas and reduce dependence on Moscow by almost two-thirds this year.
Countries in Africa, in particular in the western part of the continent, such as Nigeria, Senegal, and Angola, offer largely untapped potential for liquefied natural gas (LNG), the document said.
The European Commission is later this month to adopt the communication on external energy engagement as part of a package to implement the bloc’s plan to cut energy reliance on Moscow.
Its draft energy strategy also seeks to prepare the region for imports of 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2030 to help replace gas from Russia, in line with the ambitious EU Green Deal to walk away from fossil fuels and reach climate neutrality by mid-century.
The EU plan to increase LNG imports by 50 billion cubic meters and boost shipments of pipeline gas from countries other than Russia by 10 billion cubic meters requires setting relationships with traditional suppliers on a new basis and extending trade to new emerging suppliers, according to the document.
Key steps include fully implementing the agreement with the US for the delivery of 15 billion cubic meters of additional LNG this year and about 50 billion cubic meters annually until 2030.
Another target is to sign a trilateral memorandum of understanding with Egypt and Israel to increase LNG supplies to Europe by this summer.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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