Starting tomorrow, Thursday, EU countries will no longer be able to import coal from Russia. The measure is part of the fifth sanctions package that was decided in April, and the transition period has now expired. The embargo means that Russia will lose eight billion euros a year in revenue.
Austria got 28% of its coal imports from Russia last year, the most important supplier being Poland. Supply bottlenecks are not feared by the embargo, unlike gas. “Coal is available on the world market,” explained Alexander Bethe of the German Association of Coal Importers.
Druzhba stop
The supply of oil and fuel across the EU is causing more headaches. After a tough fight, a gradual embargo was agreed at the end of May. However, it is not expected to go into effect until the end of the year, with exceptions for particularly dependent countries.
It is precisely these countries, namely Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which have not received Russian oil since last week. Deliveries via the southern branch of the Druzhba (“Friendship”) pipeline have been halted. According to Russian pipeline operator Transneft, however, this is because the Ukrainian operator interrupted the pipeline.