After Putin’s ruble decree
When gas transfers are prohibited according to the EU
05/02/2022 10:57 p.m
The May bill for Russian gas is due. Some countries are asking the EU Commission for clarification on how to arrange their transfer to Gazprom without violating sanctions. Kremlin boss Putin has been demanding rubles since April and otherwise threatens to stop deliveries.
The EU Commission is developing more precise guidelines on how EU countries can continue to pay for Russian gas supplies without violating sanctions against Moscow. “Many European energy companies have to make the next payment to Gazprom in mid-May and try to understand better what they should do,” said EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson after a special meeting of the responsible EU ministers. “EU countries and companies should have no illusions that they can count on the goodwill of Gazprom and the Russian authorities in this area.”
Russia stopped gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria last Wednesday after the two EU countries failed to agree to a new ruble payment system that Russia was demanding. To avoid similar steps in their countries, EU states have called for further guidance.
Simson stressed that energy security in the EU is not at risk at this point in time. The memory is more than 32 percent full. But you have to be prepared for possible supply interruptions, said Simson.
Companies are not allowed to pay in rubles
The EU Commission had already explained that the payment of gas deliveries in rubles demanded by Russia would violate the sanctions. During the exchange of money in rubles to a separate account, the money is in the hands of the Russian central bank, which is sanctioned by the EU. The EU Commission does not believe that the sanctions have been violated as long as the companies continue to pay in euros and the payment is recognized as having been made before it is exchanged for rubles. Around 97 percent of gas contracts in the EU are in dollars or euros.
At the end of March, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin demanded that Western countries open accounts with Gazprombank in Russia effective April 1 in order to pay for Russian gas. Otherwise, deliveries for the “unfriendly” countries would be stopped. According to a decree signed by Putin, payments can still be deposited into the Russian account in euros or dollars. Gazprombank converts the money into rubles and transfers the amount in Russian currency to Gazprom. If the payments were not made, deliveries would be stopped, Putin had threatened.