Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki during a press statement on stopping Russian gas supplies to Poland in Rembelszczyzna (Poland), April 27, 2022. JANEK SKARZYNSKI / AFP
Europeans don’t know how to interpret Gazprom’s decision to stop gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria as of Wednesday, April 27. They fear this is the start of a series that will see other European Union (EU) countries treated equally. And they hope, without saying so, that this is a retaliatory measure aimed at these two countries, some kind of show of force intended to frighten them.
Currently they stand united behind Warsaw and Sofia, which account for only 8% of Russia’s gas imports from the 27. “The Kremlin uses fossil fuels as a tool of blackmail,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday. “We have prepared for this scenario,” she added, promising “a coordinated European response.” As of Wednesday, Germany sent gas to Poland and Greece to Bulgaria.
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The Kremlin claims that Sofia and Warsaw are being deprived of petrol because they refuse to pay for their purchases in rubles. Faced with European sanctions, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded that these transactions be made in Russia’s national currency. On Wednesday, Moscow indicated that Vienna had accepted its terms, but the Austrian prime minister rejected this. For her part, Ursula von der Leyen recalled that “97% of the contracts [entre des groupes de l’UE et les fournisseurs de gaz russe] In addition, she warned, European companies paying for Russian gas in rubles would violate EU sanctions and expose themselves to “high” legal risk .
Russian “revenge” on Poland
For Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, the Russian decision is “revenge” on Poland, which has taken an uncompromising line with Moscow since the start of the Ukraine conflict. Warsaw has repeatedly called on its partners to deliver more arms to Kyiv and to impose an embargo on Russian energies immediately. Bulgaria is much less committed to supporting Ukraine.
On the other hand, both countries have in common that they recently decided “not to renew their contract with Gazprom, which is due to expire in the coming months,” explains Thomas Pellerin-Carlin, head of the energy center at the Jacques Delors Institute. “The Baltic states have stopped importing Russian gas, other member states have announced this, but without giving a specific deadline. But only Poland and Bulgaria have announced that they will not renew their contracts,” a diplomat said.
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