The President of Ukraine, Volodymir Selenkskyj, was connected via video with a speech. Ukraine has previously repeated its demand for a total embargo on oil and gas against the aggressor – Russia. EU heads of state and government have so far not been able to bring themselves to do so.
Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) has ruled out suspending energy supplies from Russia. “There will be no gas and oil embargo on the Russian Federation with us, which is not realistic at the moment,” said Nehammer ahead of the EU summit. His German counterpart Olaf Scholz made a similar statement: “The EU has made a conscious decision not to impose an embargo on imports of Russian energy.” Some EU countries, including Austria and Germany, are highly dependent on Russian gas.
In this context, Nehammer wants to address the differences between the EU and the US on the Biden case. “You have to look here because the European Union and the United States are not comparable,” said the Chancellor, referring to the US oil embargo against Russia.
“There are separate European strategic security interests, there are separate interests in the security of energy supply,” said Nehammer. As chancellor, she also has the task of ensuring the greatest possible security for the Austrian nation. Austria supports sanctions but advocates “a sanctions regime that harms the attackers more than those who support law, order and human rights.”
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Latvia, Krisjanis Karins, called for an extension of the sanctions. It’s just money. If you’re still alive and your infrastructure is fine, you can make money again, “said Karins. He stressed that Latvia was heavily dependent on Russian gas and oil.
Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said ahead of the summit that steps should also be taken for further escalation. In turn, the Prime Minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas, demanded: “We should use everything we can now to impose the strictest possible sanctions.”
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has once again made it clear that, in her opinion, the EU must get rid of Russian energy imports as soon as possible. “As long as we buy energy from Russia, we finance the war,” said Marin.
Nehammer was reluctant to comment on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that in the future gas will be accounted for in rubles. “Anyway, a new field of play has opened up, the question is whether we have to go there or not,” said Nehammer. It is clear to Austria that Russian gas plays a “central role” and that it must be ensured “primarily for the supply of the population”.
Other heads of government clearly rejected Putin’s request. “We see this as a breach of the existing treaties,” said Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. “I don’t think anyone in Europe knows what rubles look like. Nobody will pay in rubles, said Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa. Draghi also stressed the importance of China’s influence over Russia. China is “the most important country” and can be the key to the peace process.
About 40 percent. gas in the EU comes from Russia, 27 percent. crude oil imports and 46 percent. coal imported into the EU. According to estimates by the Brussels think tank Bruegel, the EU spends around $ 420 million (EUR 382 million) a day on Russian gas and less than 400 million (EUR 364 million) on oil from Russia. The EU decided to get rid of Russian energy imports as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the EU is likely to follow the US administration’s assessment that Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine. In the latest draft final declaration for the EU summit, we read: “Russia attacks civilians and targets civilian facilities, including hospitals, medical facilities, schools and shelters. These war crimes must stop immediately. ” In the previous draft, “crime” was mentioned.
According to the head of EU foreign policy, Josep Borrell, the Russian military action in Ukraine has not ended in success. “The Russian army started trying to conquer quickly and now people are being massacred. From a military point of view, this is a great defeat for Russia, “said Borrell on the sidelines of the EU summit.
Nehammer spoke as one of eight of the EU’s 27 heads of state and government in the debate with Biden. The chancellor said earlier that he wanted to address the importance of the Western Balkans. A clear signal is needed that it is now important for both the European Union and the United States to take over this region. In the Western Balkans, in particular, there is a great risk that Russia will exert a destabilizing influence, for example in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Serbia.
Biden was the first US president to attend the regular EU summit in Brussels in person. In a joint statement by the United States and the European Council, leaders discussed “the coordinated and united response of the European Union and the United States to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression.” The intention to impose further sanctions on Russia and Belarus as well as attempts to circumvent the existing sanctions were also discussed.
On Friday, the second day of the summit, rising energy prices are the order of the day. The Russian attack on Ukraine caused the prices, which were already raging anyway, to skyrocket. EU countries should instruct the European Commission to put forward concrete measures against high electricity prices – but without jeopardizing the internal market or the energy transition.
In it, heads of state and government call for proposals that will deal effectively with high electricity prices while preserving the integrity of the internal market. This means that more drastic market interventions, such as price caps, are becoming less and less likely.