The EU executive is wielding the weapon of infringement proceedings against anyone who was supposed to accept Gazprombank’s dual account system for paying for gas supplies, thereby complying with the Kremlin’s dictates, which demanded the balance be paid in rubles. “As the Commission, we monitor the implementation of sanctions against Russia by member states; If we see that something is wrong, there is a chance to launch infringement proceedings against that country,” Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU executive vice-president in charge of the economic portfolio, told Euronews. Brussels is stepping on the gas, rebooting at the end of a hectic week in which confusion over Europe’s position on Putin’s decree mandating the conversion of payments into rubles was the main attraction, recalling the dire consequences for those using the ruble circumvent sanctions already passed against Moscow, including a ban on doing business with the Russian central bank.
So far, however, the Commission has limited itself to circulating a synthetic Q&A, a question and answer document in which companies that can open the account in euros are asked to communicate in writing that the payment must already be considered completed after the Payment of the consideration in euros without opening the second position, which was denominated in rubles, since the conversion would be entirely in the hands of the Russian authorities and would end up being a de facto loan to the central bank. Here, many companies are urging Brussels to issue tighter disclosures before the next balance sheets are due on May 15, when Putin may decide to close other taps: This will be discussed as early as Monday at the extraordinary meeting of energy ministers, which will also take action on coordination and solidarity between Member States in the event of power cuts, as has happened in Poland and Bulgaria (Sofia, for example, which is 90% dependent on Russian methane, is primarily supported by neighboring Romania and Greece).
The precisions
Meanwhile, Eni clarified yesterday that it has not opened an account in rubles to pay for gas: the company is “analyzing the situation in close coordination with the European authorities and the government. We will pay for the delivered gas in strict compliance with contractual terms and international sanctions,” CFO of the six-legged dog Francesco Gattei stated during the earnings call with analysts. Meanwhile in Brussels, the terms and conditions for the approval of the sixth package of restrictions will be finalized next week, this time – albeit with various precautionary measures, gradations and exceptions, which will continue to be worked on over the weekend – This also includes the oil embargo, Moscow’s main source of income, and they will also hit Sberbank, the country’s main bank. However, yesterday’s rooftop gas wholesale price came as a cold shower from Acer, the EU agency for the cooperation of energy regulators, “not convinced” the measure will solve the problems in the short term.
In fact, for the stability of the electricity market it would be “better to avoid exceptional measures and overly radical interventions that could have negative consequences for families and businesses” as they would alienate investment in innovation, Acer director Christian Zinglersen warned. After the Commission decided this week on the Iberian exception and setting a maximum price for Spain and Portugal at an average of 50 euros per megawatt hour, the issue will return to the table of heads of state and government at the European Council in a month’s time. Meanwhile, the EU and US have brought together the Energy Security Task Force and Washington has promised more shipments of LNG to Europe.
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