2023-09-08 07:16:08
A high-ranking EU diplomat’s strong criticism of Austria’s dependence on Russian gas has caused irritation in Vienna and Brussels. Martin Selmayr, the representative of the European Commission in Vienna, described the Austrian gas payments to belligerent Russia as “blood money”.
The German EU diplomat will be summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Vienna for a meeting, a spokeswoman for the ministry announced on Thursday. The commission then distanced itself from Selmayr’s statements. These were “unfortunate and inappropriate,” said a spokeswoman for the institution in the evening. The EU Commission asked Selmayr to “report on this incident immediately,” she said.
At a discussion event in Vienna on Wednesday evening, Selmayr criticized Austria for financing Russia’s war in this way and that there were no protests once morest it. “That surprises me, because blood money is sent to Russia every day with the gas bill,” said Selmayr. As a rich country, Austria, like other countries, might get along without Russian gas, he said.
At the beginning of the Russian attack on Ukraine, Austria received 79 percent of its gas imports from Russia. By October of the previous year, the proportion had fallen to 17 percent. In recent months, however, the values have been significantly higher once more. According to the Ministry of Climate Protection, it was 66 percent in July.
Austria’s European Minister Karoline Edtstadler from the conservative ÖVP described the criticism on Thursday as “completely one-sided” and referred to Austria’s ongoing efforts. The government plans to do without Russian gas until 2027. Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens), however, showed understanding for Selmayr’s “blood money” statement. He had already described it that way himself, he told the TV station Puls24.
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