The European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, confirmed today, Monday, following the conclusion of the meeting of European Union energy ministers, the European bloc’s refusal to pay in rubles for Russian gas, considering Russia’s demands as a violation of the signed contracts.
It said both Poland and Bulgaria were getting gas supplies from Germany, following Russian supplies were cut off.
She referred to the work to strengthen the independence of the European Union in the matter of energy, adding that the level of gas storage in Europe reached 32%.
The European Commissioner for Energy stressed the need to anticipate any disruption in gas supplies and maintain the state of emergency, with the need to store enough gas by the winter season.
“We must continue to work on diversifying gas sources,” she said. “We are undoubtedly facing challenges on the supply side, but we must move forward in abandoning Russian fossil fuels.”
For her part, the French Minister of Environmental Transformation, Barbara Pompele, said that the issue of energy supply is a collective issue for the European Union, stressing work to ensure energy security for EU countries.
She said: “The European Union has a unified position on Russian gas, and we are working to provide alternative supplies and control prices.”
The French minister strongly condemned the decisions of the Russian “Gazprom” to cut off gas imports from Bulgaria and Poland, noting that the two countries confirmed that there is no imminent danger resulting from the interruption of Russian gas.
European Union energy ministers held emergency talks today, with the bloc seeking to respond in unison to Moscow’s demand that European buyers pay for Russian gas in rubles or stop supplies.
Russia has already stopped Gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland Last week, following they refused to meet her demands to pay in rubles. The two countries have already planned to stop using Russian gas this year, and say they can adapt. But that has raised fears that other EU countries, including Germany, Europe’s gas-dependent economic power, may be next.
With many European companies facing a deadline to pay for gas later this month, EU countries urgently need to clarify whether companies can continue to buy fuel without violating EU sanctions once morest Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow has said that foreign gas buyers must deposit euros or dollars into an account with Russia’s privately owned Gazprom Bank, to convert them into rubles.
