Russian war of aggression
EU countries reject gas payments in rubles
04/28/2022, 2:20 p.m
According to an EU official, all member states of the European Union refuse to pay for Russian gas in rubles. “What we know – and everyone agrees – is that nobody wants to pay in rubles,” said the EU representative in Brussels on Thursday. However, the EU Commission has no overview of how many companies have opened an account with the Russian Gazprombank.
Ruble banknotes: The Russian central bank lowers the key interest rate.
(Photo: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa)
Russia introduced new payment rules for gas in rubles in April, but the exact implementation is unclear. The companies should set up a second account with Gazprombank for this purpose. This is apparently to be used to convert incoming payments in euros or dollars into rubles. However, according to EU regulations, companies should not participate in this. According to the federal government, the German companies continue to transfer in euros or dollars and have then fulfilled their contracts.
Almost all contracts state that payments must be made in euros or dollars. Russia has stopped gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria on the grounds that they are not complying with the new regulations.